Emotional Silence: Original
by Nakira.Taisho
Summary: Sasuke's twin sister...need I say more? the normal setup.
1. Info

**Emotional Silence 0- Info**

Uchiha Karin is the same height as Sasuke, with long black hair that reaches her waist. She has gray eyes, but otherwise looks like Sasuke (and their mother). Wears a black vest with the Uchiha crest over a chest pocket, a net shirt that covers her arms all the way to her wrists, black shorts with netting underneath also that covers all the way to her ankles, and wrappings on her left wrist under the netting. She wears her Hitai-ate tied like a bracelet around her right wrist, she's left handed so the fabric doesn't get in the way.

Like her brother, she is Quiet and calm. She avoids people at all costs and doesn't make friends easily. She feels like every time she tries to make friends, they get hurt or hurt her, so she gave up on that. The only person she trusts is her twin brother, Sasuke. She was scarred by the attack on her family and doesn't allow anyone to see her get emotional except Sasuke. Romantically, she prefers girls over boys, even stating that she is a lesbian.

Before the two events that changed her, she was good friends with Hyuuga Neji. She was training with him and came home late, when her family was killed. She walked in on the end of the slaughter, just as Itachi was about to go after Sasuke. She stopped him and he left, telling them to hate him and get strong enough to fight him. A year later, a young man came to the village, from Iwagakure, and became friends with her. He betrayed her by trying to kill Sasuke; she stopped him before the finishing blow was made. She swore to make him suffer the same fate that he tried to push Sasuke into, death. She and Sasuke are both popular, but ignore it because they only care about getting their revenge, against Deidara and Itachi respectively.

Karin specializes in fire based Ninjutsu, sharingan, medical Ninjutsu, and Taijutsu. Despite her age and behavior, she is at a Jounin level. Her age being 12.


	2. The Beginning

**Emotional Silence 1- The Beginning**

"Sasuke! Come on or we'll be late!" I bang on Sasuke's door and wait.

"I'm coming! Hold on!" I roll my eyes and go to the kitchen. "You forgot to put on your Hitai-ate, Nee-chan." I shake my head and tap my wrist.

"I'm wearing it. Here, I fixed breakfast and Bento for us to take." I toss him a roll and put the two box lunches on the table.

"You labeled them again?" I nod.

"Of course I did. I'm not going to let you steal my lunch again and switch it with yours."

"That was funny last week."

"What about yesterday when you did that?" He laughs.

"It wasn't funny, because you kicked my ass after school."

"Exactly." He shrugs and picks up his lunch.

"Let's go." I nod and grab my bag and lunch. We get outside and stop. "Fan girls!" I look around and smile.

"We can escape down that alley." We run to the alley and hide until the screaming girls disappear. They annoy me even more than the boys do. Everyone in my class except for Sasuke and Naruto has a crush on me. I could care less what they think, but having to get away from them is annoying. I look out onto the street. "We're safe, let's go the other way to the school, maybe we can manage to avoid them until school."

"Wonderful." I nod and check my watch.

"Oh crap! We're gonna be late!"

"The rooftops." I nod and scale the wall to stand on the roof.

"It's a straight shot this way. Let's hurry." We're really not going to be late for class starting; we just like to be early so we can get good seats, away from the fans. We run across the roofs and get to the school. "Here we go. I wonder what teams we'll be put on."

"Teams?"

"Three man-cells, it's basic Shinobi protocol for ninja to work in groups of three under a superior."

"Great, that means two people too many." I roll my eyes and we start walking to the classroom.

"Good morning, Uchiha-san."

"Good morning, Inuzuka-kun." It's started. Inuzuka grins and I walk past him, going to the middle row closest to the windows. I sit down and Sasuke sits beside me. The next person to sit on this row is Naruto. Then Ino and Sakura get here, fighting to get in first. Figures. Then, an argument starts among the girls about who gets to sit by Sasuke. Can't they tell that the row is full? I look over to say something to Sasuke when I see Naruto standing on the desk, glaring at him.

"Get lost."

"Naruto! Don't glare at Sasuke!" I sigh and wait for Naruto to give up on his glaring. Suddenly, he falls forward and kisses Sasuke. They both gag and I stand up, slamming my hands on the desk.

"Uzumaki you idiot! You're dead!"

"Nee-chan, don't bother." I glare at Naruto and sit down, arms crossed. Iruka-sensei gets into the room and puts a clipboard on his desk. The class goes quiet.

"I wonder who'll get put with the Uchiha twins." My eye twitches. I hate it when people refer to us like that. We may be twins, but we're still people that should be acknowledged for something other than looks or talent, or even the stupid last name. Iruka-sensei goes down his list.

"Team 7, Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uchiha Karin." We got put...on the same team. Naruto jumps up and gets excited when he hears that he's teamed with Sakura, and then gets upset when the rest of the team is called out. Sakura was depressed until Sasuke was mentioned. Great, that means that we're stuck on the team with the top fan girl and the dunce. This should be interesting. Iruka-sensei finishes the list and Naruto gets up to complain about being teamed with Sasuke. I ignore it and start doodling on my hand.

"That's not healthy, you know."

"Shut up, I know that. I'm bored and I don't have any paper." Iruka-sensei dismisses us and I go out to the roof, I sit down and open up my bento.

"Itadakimasu!" I dig into my lunch of raspberry and blackberry onigiri (Note: Onigiri is a flavored rice ball with a flavor tab on the back, different colors label different flavors, usually fruit but other flavors are used as well) and shrimp. When I finish, I go back to the classroom. Sasuke and I are the first ones to get back from lunch.

"Guess what happened to me during lunch."

"You were attacked by fan boys?" I shake my head.

"Absolutely nothing! I had a peaceful lunch for once."

"Lucky you. Naruto attacked me and tied me up."

"Why would he do something stupid like that? No, don't answer that question, because I know the answer." The door opens and a stranger steps into the room. I don't recognize him or the woman that follows him in.

"No one's back from lunch yet?"

"Just us. Who are you looking for?" The woman smiles at us.

"Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino. I'm their instructor, Yuhi Kurenai."

"Well, I think they were eating lunch somewhere on the west side of the grounds, they should get back pretty soon though." She nods and sits down, to wait.

"Who are you waiting for?" The man sits down beside Kurenai.

"I'm Sarutobi Asuma. The team I'm waiting on is team 10." Ino, Chouji, and Nara. I nod.

"They're never gonna finish lunch, Chouji will be eating until he takes his last breath." The two Jounin laugh and I start doodling on my hand again.

"Here" I look up and take the paper from Asuma.

"Um, thanks?" He nods and walks back to the front of the room.

"You shouldn't draw on yourself. It's not healthy." I roll my eyes and start doodling on the paper. I'm not really paying attention to the drawing, but I think I might be drawing that scene again. That's usually what comes out when I doodle like this. I'll bet that those fan boys would run for their lives if they knew why I was so quiet and distant. The room slowly fills up and then empties, leaving me and my team last. We wait for an hour.

"Where is he? It's been an hour since Iruka-sensei left." Naruto looks out into the hall.

"Naruto, whatever stupid prank you're planning won't work on an elite Jounin. You'll get in trouble." He laughs and puts an eraser at the top of the door, holding it up with the door being almost closed all the way. Not even two seconds after he gets back to a chair, the door opens and the eraser falls flat on the white hair of a man.

"So this is our elite instructor?"

"Seems like a bit of a pushover."

"Sensei, I'm so sorry! I tried to stop Naruto!"

"You fell for that big-time!" He seems to smile, at least the visible part of his face lifts slightly in the appearance of a smile.

"Let's see, my first impression of you four...I hate you."

"That was a bit harsh..." He walks out of the room and we follow him to the roof. He leans against the rail and we sit down, Naruto, Sasuke, me, and then Sakura.

"Okay, I want to get to know you guys. I want you to tell me your name, dreams, likes, dislikes, and hobbies."

"Sensei! We don't know anything about you; you show us what to do!"

"Fine. My name is Hatake Kakashi. My dreams and hobbies are none of your business. And I don't feel like telling you what my likes and dislikes are."

"All that and all we know is his name."

"That was the point."

"Now, we'll start with the blond to my right."

"Uzumaki Naruto desu! I like ramen, especially cup ramen and miso ramen from Ichiraku! What I don't like is the time that you have to wait before you can eat cup ramen. My goal is to become the next Hokage!"

"Next, you on the right."

"Haruno Sakura desu. What, well who I like is...*Glance sideways* my dreams, well...*Glance at Sasuke and blush* and I hate...Naruto." That was cruel.

"Next, you next to Sakura." I sigh. That's me.

"Uchiha Karin desu. I don't like much, except art. I dislike everything except art and music. I don't really have any hobbies to speak of. And I don't have a dream; it's more of a goal that I intend to accomplish. That goal is to kill a certain man, whose name you don't need to know." Kakashi's eye twitches slightly.

"Next."

"Uchiha Sasuke desu. There isn't anything that I like, so it's pointless to list what I dislike. I also have a goal that I intend to obtain in the near future. To restore my clan and fulfill my vow to kill a certain man."

"That wouldn't happen to be the same man as Karin-san, would it?"

"No." Naruto looks worried. Was what he did earlier that bad that he would worry about being the one that Sasuke wants to kill?

"Tomorrow, we'll go on a mission that only involves the members of this cell..." I ignore the speech and think about that sketch from before. It was that scene, the day that our parents were killed. It was a year after that when Deidara showed up. He nearly killed Sasuke that day, and I will not forgive him until he meets the fate that he almost made my brother meet, death. "Be at the training grounds at five in the morning. Don't eat breakfast, unless you like puking. And bring all of your ninja gear." He disappears and we get up. Sasuke hands me a piece of paper.

"You spaced out while he was explaining."

"Thanks." Naruto starts for the door to go downstairs. I roll my eyes and run across the roof, jumping over the rail and landing on top of a tree. I run to the house and start working on dinner.


	3. Absurd Tests

**Emotional Silence 2-Absurd Tests**

"Hey, wake up. It's four o'clock." I shoot upright, almost knocking heads with Sasuke. "Hey, watch out, Nee-chan!"

"Sorry, Sasuke. Get out so I can get dressed! Oh, and it's your turn to cook today."

"I know. See you in a little while."

"Your still here." He laughs and runs out of the room. I sigh and get out of bed. I go to my closet and get out my clothes. I get dressed and strap my shuriken case to my leg. I look around and grab my bag to strap to my belt. I make sure there are kunai and needles inside and put my sketch book and pencil in the back pocket of the bag, so it doesn't get in the way of my weapons but is still easily accessed, just in case we have free time today. I slip my Hitai-ate over my hand and tighten the knot so it doesn't slide off before straightening out my bed and going down to the kitchen.

"Should we eat something before we go?"

"Well, he did say that we shouldn't eat unless we enjoy puking."

"You're right. Let's go." He nods and we walk out to the training grounds.

"Wow, it's quiet."

"For once." I nod and we stop walking. We got here at the same time as the other two.

"Where's Kakashi-sensei?" We stand there and wait. After half an hour, I sit down and start doodling in my sketch book. Thirty minutes later, Naruto sits down and puts his head in his hands. After another hour, Naruto is asleep and Sakura sits down.

"Finally." I snap my book shut and put it away as I stand up and kick Naruto. He wakes up just as Kakashi walks up.

"Good morning!"

"YOU'RE LATE!" Sakura and Naruto yell at the top of their lungs.

"Yea, well a black cat crossed my path and I had to go a different way…then I got lost…"

"Just get to the point of this exercise." He touches an alarm.

"Right. I've set this alarm to go off at noon. I have here three small bells. Your challenge is to steal these from me before the timer sounds. Anyone who fails doesn't get to eat lunch, instead, you get tied to a stump and I get to eat in front of you." All four of our stomachs growl. I knew we should have eaten first.

There are four stumps, one was recently put there. "You only need one bell apiece. But since there aren't enough to go around, at least one of you is guaranteed a place on the stumps. And that person will be the first to fail. That means that one of you is on your way back to school after today. You may, if you choose, use shuriken. Attack as though you mean to kill or you'll never stand a chance." Wow, he's pretty straightforward about this. There has to be a way for all of us to pass. I can't let this set me back. I have to get strong enough to beat Deidara.

"But…but that's so dangerous!"

"You couldn't even dodge an eraser. You're gonna get yourself killed!"

"Must you talk so big? Only the weak speak loudly. Now, let's forget the dunce, and we'll start on my signal." That pisses Naruto off and he rushes in to attack Kakashi. He moves instantly. Wow, I almost didn't notice him move. If I hadn't been using sharingan at that moment to see his reaction, I would have missed it. Kakashi has one hand on Naruto's head and the other holding his arm so that the kunai is pointing at the nape of Naruto's neck. "Not so fast, I didn't say go."

Finally, he shows his true colors. I'll need to be careful around him. "But at least you struck to kill. So, it seems as though you've begun to respect me. Just maybe, I'm starting to like you four. And now, ready, steady, GO!"

All four of us jump away and hide. He starts talking. I'm in a tree, at the perfect angle to attack and still move so I don't reveal my position as well as watch him. Naruto is standing in plain view, challenging him. What an idiot! He's stupid. The best way to get a bell will be to wait for him to let his guard down and strike at the best time. Kakashi pulls out a book and starts reading. Naruto attacks and he dodges every move. Wow, he's good if he can read and still fight. He snaps the book closed and moves around behind Naruto, using the same technique that he used to stop Naruto's attack before, and crouches behind him with his hands in the sign of Tora. Fire style? He's going to use a fire style technique against a Genin?

"NARUTO! GET OUT OF THERE! YOU'LL BE KILLED!" Well, Sakura just gave away her position. Naruto looks over and Kakashi shoves his hands forward, pushing chakra up Naruto's butt. That's sick…

"A thousand years of death!" That's just sick and wrong. Maybe if I can lure him into a trap, Sasuke and I can work together to get two of the bells. I move very quietly to Sasuke's position.

"I'm gonna set up a trap. When he appears to let his guard down, lure him to my position. Run two meters in that direction and we'll get those bells." He nods and I run off, planning out my trap. It has to be something simple that won't be easy to see, but I can't get Sasuke caught in it. A simple trap. I stop after about two meters and look around. There are several thin trees that are concealed by bushes. If I tie those back and set a trigger in the center that will send them flying at him when he steps on it. I set the trap and hear rustling in the trees. Sasuke runs out.

"He's coming."

"Good. I'm set up." He nods and jumps into a tree. I hide and Kakashi walks out of the trees, right into my trap. The trees fly back with just the right force to smack him square on the head. Surprisingly, he moves fast enough to not get hurt. Dang. Sasuke and I come out of hiding and attack him. Someone screams. That was Sakura. He blocks our attacks and we back up.

"Finally, someone's working together."

"We're different from them."

"And we won't lose."

"Save your boasts for until after you've got bells, Sasuke and Karin." I smile slightly and crouch, one hand in my bag grabbing needles and the other on my shuriken pouch ready to grab weapons. "The strength of the Uchiha clan, Konohagakure's most elite family, in double force. I'm looking forward to it." I nod and Sasuke attacks, Kakashi dodges but the shuriken slice through another rope that I set up, set of knives set to fly from the hidden spring loaded case that I attached to a tree. "Frontal assaults are wasted here."

I smile and dodge the knives, as I'm standing directly in their aim. Kakashi dodges just in time. When he lands, I attack, landing a strong kick to his upper body, aiming for his face. He blocks my kick and grabs my ankle. I twist around and go to punch him. He catches the punch and I reach down to grab a bell, touching them with the tip of my fingers. Almost got it. He realizes my intentions and he pushes me away. I land in a crouch, ready to attack again. We've got to get those bells.

"I'll admit it; you're not like the others." I run over to stand behind Kakashi, facing Sasuke, and we both start running through hand signs. Fire style, fireball jutsu! We both blow a stream of fire at Kakashi; I notice that he goes underground to dodge the flames. The flames die out and I jump into a tree. Sasuke looks around for him and a hand comes up and grabs his ankle.

"Sasuke! Below you!"

"Earth style, groundhog technique, decapitation!" Kakashi pulls Sasuke down until only his head is above ground. I jump out of the tree and face him. "Shinobi battle technique, lesson number three, Ninjutsu. But, at least, as you predicted, your performance was head and shoulders above your teammates."

"Forgetting someone?" He turns around and faces me. I cross my arms and smile.

"Well, that's where you got to." I walk towards him; he notices the color of my eyes and backs up slightly. He knows that I've been watching his every move with sharingan now. I move, using the technique that he so kindly showed me, behind him and jump onto his back, kunai against his throat. He manages to throw me off and get away.

"Damn."

"A little help?" Just as I get ready to dig Sasuke out, Sakura comes out of the trees.

"Sakura, help me out huh?" She sees Sasuke and screams. She faints, landing with a thud.

"What was that all about?" I shrug and dig Sasuke out of the hole. He gets up and dusts himself off. "Hey." He walks over to Sakura and she wakes up.

"Sasuke!" She hugs him and my eyes twitch. "You're alive!"

"Yea, fine, okay, you can let go now!!" I pull her off of him and he gets up.

"Time's running out."

"It's almost noon." He nods and we start walking.

"We're off."

"Do you honestly believe you can get those bells?"

"Karin got close enough to touch them. This time, we'll take them."

"What? Really? Wow! You're really amazing!" I roll my eyes. Stupid fan girl. "I mean, there's no more time. Even if we couldn't manage this time, I'm sure next time, if we give it our all…" We both glare at her, and she swallows. I nod.

"Only I can kill him."

"Who? Kakashi-sensei?" I start walking.

"He made us cry."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Our only goal is revenge. We have to become stronger, now." The timer goes off.

"Crap. We should have saved our breath." We walk back to the stumps. Naruto is tied to one of the stumps and three Bento boxes are on the ground. We sit down and face Kakashi.

"Oh my, listen to all of the little stomachs growl. By the way, you four, I have an announcement, about this exercise. None of you need to worry about going back to school."

"Yea! This rocks! It means all four of us…"

"Are hopeless. More schooling would be pointless. None of you will ever be Shinobi!" He did _not_ just say that!

"What do you mean? Just, give up?! Give me a break! Okay, so maybe none of us got a hold of one of your stupid bells! Why the heck should we quit over that?"

"Because none of you has what it takes." I glare at him and Sasuke gets up.

"Sasuke!" Kakashi blocks his attack and steps on his head.

"What you are is a quartet of spoiled brats."

"Don't step on Sasuke!"

"Shut up you idiot." Sakura glares at me.

"Are you _trying_ to make fun of the Shinobi way? Well, are you? Did any of you ever stop to consider _why_ you were placed in teams?"

"Uh, excuse me?" That looks uncomfortable, but if I move to help Sasuke, we could both get hurt.

"Obviously not. So you missed the entire point of the exercise."

"It had a point?"

"Of course, and that point determines whether you succeed or not."

"But, you haven't explained what it is." I sigh.

"Isn't it obvious? He's talking about teamwork. I can't believe I didn't see it before."

"Karin is right. Teamwork. If all four of you had come at me at once, you might have succeeded."

"If we were expected to function as a team, why do you only have three bells? Even if we worked together, one of us would still have had to go without lunch! You're preaching teamwork and you played us against each other!"

"Of course, this task was designed to create dissention in your ranks. The situation was set up to see which of you would set aside your individual interests and propose to the others that you work together for the good of all. The Uchiha twins had the right idea, coming at me from both sides." I hate it when people call us that!

"Instead, you, Sakura. You were only concerned about Sasuke, who you had no idea what his location was, when Naruto was standing right in front of you. Naruto tried to do what should have been the work of all four and attacked me head on. There was still a flaw in Sasuke and Karin's actions as well. They decided that the other two were a hindrance and thought they should act on their own.

"You are a team! Learn to act as one! Yes, it's necessary for ninja to have individual skills, but what is even more important now is teamwork! Making a play as an individual is bad for the team and exposes your comrades to unnecessary danger! You may as well kill them yourself, here's an example." He pulls out a kunai and puts it to Sasuke's throat. "Sakura, kill Naruto or Sasuke dies."

"What?!" I get up; ready to stop him if he was serious.

"The day could come, when one of you may be taken hostage, and you're forced to make such a choice. When you are on a mission, your lives will always be on the line." He gets up and walks over the memorial marker. Sasuke gets up and walks over to me.

"You okay?" He nods.


	4. Passed

**Emotional Silence 3- Passed**

"Look at the marker. All the names carved in this stone are heroes of our village, Shinobi."

"That's it! I've just made up my mind! There's where I want my name to go! I'm not gonna throw my life away! I wanna be like them! A hero!"

"These aren't just any heroes."

"What kind of heroes are they? Come on! Tell me!" I sigh.

"The dead kind, idiot. The heroes on that stone died in the line of duty."

"This is a memorial. It includes the names of my best friends." Naruto's face falls and Sasuke touches my shoulder. Our parents are on that stone as well. "Listen up! I'm giving you all one last chance. One that will be far more difficult than our little game with the bells. If you're prepared to continue, you may eat one of the bento. But no sharing with Naruto. He goes hungry."

"Why?"

"He brought it upon himself when he tried to sneak lunch for himself. If any of you feed him, you fail right there. My word is law, do you understand?" He disappears. This is stupid. If Naruto doesn't eat, he'll really be a hindrance this afternoon. I pick up one of the bento and loosen the ropes holding Naruto to the stump.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? Unless you plan to put the food in his mouth yourself."

"But sensei said not to give him any food!"

"He's not anywhere near here." I get the ropes untied and Naruto sits down. I hand him the bento and sit down beside Sasuke.

"What are you gonna eat?" I smile and reach into my bag.

"You didn't notice when I grabbed lunch?" I open my bento and start eating. The wind picks up.

"What the heck?" Kakashi comes out of the whirl of dust and glares at us.

"You…" I put the lid on my bento and reach for my needles, Sasuke gets ready to defend himself as well, and Sakura and Naruto scream. "Pass." He smiles at us. My eye twitches in aggravation.

"We pass, but why?"

"You have just taken a giant step forward!"

"Um, how?" I roll my eyes.

"Up till now, we've just listened to what he told us and acted accordingly."

"Exactly. Like mindless drones. A true Shinobi seeks for the hidden meanings within hidden meanings. In a ninja's world, those who don't follow orders are considered garbage, but those who don't care for and support their fellows, are even lower than that! I wasn't expecting you to set him free though, that's a plus."

Figures. "You all pass! That's all for today! Team 7, your duties will commence tomorrow! Let's go home!" We start walking, leaving Naruto behind. This should be interesting. We get home and I put my bento in the fridge.

"So, now what are we gonna do?"

"What were you sketching this morning?" I shrug and pull out my book. Sasuke opens it and looks at the picture I was drawing. "Oh." I take the book back and put it back in my bag. "We should go and retrieve our weapons." I nod.

"Sure, after we eat. I'm really hungry!" He laughs and grabs a pot.

"Is that all you know how to cook?"

"No, it's just easy and I don't feel like cooking anything complex." I laugh and sit at the table.

"Spoil sport!"

"Nee-chan?"

"What?" He turns on the stove and sits down beside me.

"Why didn't you suggest teamwork, if you knew the point of the whole thing?"

"I didn't realize it until he said that there was a point. You saw how easy it was for us to get that close."

"Yea, but you also have sharingan." I shrug.

"It helped a little. You saw his reaction right? When he realized that I was using it." He nods.

"Yea. That was kinda funny." Why we can't act like this around people, I don't know. Maybe it's because we know each other so well that we can only stand to act like this when we're alone.

"He looked terrified for a minute, like he was second guessing himself actually."

"I wonder why." I shrug.

"He probably knows a lot about it. He was, after all, on the same team with an Uchiha."

"How do you know that?"

"I actually read the stone. One of the names on the stone is Uchiha Obito. He was touching the stone on the exact spot where that name is. It's only logical to conclude that his best friends were his teammates."

"Sometimes you make absolutely no sense." I smile and pull a different book out of my bag. "How many books can you carry in that thing?"

"Only the two. And these are the most important books to me."

"What book is that anyways?"

"It's a bingo book. Most elite Shinobi have them. It details different, powerful Shinobi from different villages. I'm looking to see if Kakashi is in there. Maybe I can find out something else about him." Sasuke nods slowly and checks the water. I flip through the pages and stop when I see that name. "Found him. _Hatake Kakashi, 22, from Konohagakure no Satou, former black ops operative, alias Kakashi the Copy Ninja. Uses sharingan and ocular jutsu, as well as over a thousand copied techniques. Formidable opponent who has killed over a hundred enemy ninja._"

"Wow." I nod and shut the book.

"That doesn't make sense though, sharingan is supposed to be unique to the Uchiha clan. And only some of the most talented members of the clan have managed to be able to use it."

"Well, that just lowered my self esteem." I laugh.

"Oh come on, you know that you're as good a fighter as I am."

"I guess you just have to be in true danger to unlock it."

"I think it's triggered when you're trying to protect someone precious to you. I was only able to use sharingan after…"

"I know." He hands me a bowl of ramen and we start eating. That day flashes through my mind, Deidara attacking Sasuke. I touch my wrist and stare at the table. "Nee-chan?" I look up.

"Oh, right. Sorry." I go back to my food and try to ignore the memory. "I call the shower first."

"You're lucky we have two bathrooms." I laugh and put my empty bowl in the sink.

"I'll be out in a little while."

"Don't use all the hot water this time please." I smile.

"I'll try." Before he can respond, I run down the hall to my room. It's hard, having to take care of ourselves like this. With no parents to take care of things. We have to do all of the cleaning and cooking and shopping. And on top of all that, we have to train so we can get strong enough to get revenge. People, who want to be like us, have no idea what they would be trading. I start the water and get out a towel. I get in the shower and wash off.

"_Ha! You're weak!"_

"_Deidara! Get away from him!"_

"_Nee…chan…"_

"_Sasuke!"_ I slam the wall and turn off the water. Stupid memories.


	5. The Worst Client

**Emotional Silence 4- The Worst Client**

"I've spotted the target."

"Good, is everyone in position?"

"All set, as well as the secondary trap, in case he gets away."

"I'm all set."

"Ready."

"Same here."

"All right. Go!" We move and Naruto grabs the cat.

"Gotcha!"

"Remember, our quarry has a ribbon on its right ear that says Tora. Make sure there's no mistake." The cat starts attacking Naruto and I check the ribbon.

"Target confirmed."

"Good then. Mission _Find the missing pet_ is accomplished."

"Um, Naruto let me take the cat before he scratches you to bits." I take the cat and gently pet his head. "There you go, it's okay, Tora-kun. Calm down." The cat starts purring and we go back to the offices. "Here you go ma'am." I hand the cat to Lady Shijimi and she starts hugging it. I stand with the others. That poor cat, no wonder he attacked Naruto.

"Now, the next assignment for Kakashi's team 7 will be…" The Hokage runs through a short list.

"No way! No thank you! Boring! Give us something different to do! Something important! Something amazing!" He has a point, but he shouldn't be so rude to the Hokage. Iruka-sensei gets up and starts yelling at Naruto. I ignore it and stare at the ceiling. This is annoying. We've done enough D-ranked missions to be allowed to get C-ranked assignments. It's just a matter of time before Naruto annoys the Hokage enough to get him to give us a higher ranked assignment.

"Very well, since you put it that way." I look over expectantly. It didn't take as long as I thought it would. "I will permit you to attempt a C-rank mission, usually reserved for Chunin, the protection of a certain individual…"

"All right! Who is it? Some great lord? A Daimyo? A princess?"

"Compose yourself; I'll perform the introductions straight away. Please invite him in." A side door opens and an old man walks in.

"What's going on here? They look like a bunch of snot-nosed brats. Especially the midget, he's got the face of an idiot. It's a joke right? You kids aren't really ninja are you?" Naruto looks around.

"Who d'you mean? Which midget? Which imbecile?" Sasuke, Sakura, and I move so he can see that he's the shortest of the four of us. "I'll kill him!" Kakashi holds him back.

"Wrong, no killing the old man you've been assigned to protect."

"I am Tazuna. A bridge builder of ultimate renown! Until I am safely back in my own country, where I'll be completing my next bridge, you'll all be expected to protect me, even if it costs you your lives!" We nod and go home to pack. I put some of my larger weapons in my pack and put a set of pajamas and a bedroll in the back, behind a divider in the bag that will protect my clothes from my weapons.

"Ready to go?" I put the pack on and walk out of my room.

"Yep." We walk to the gate and get ready to head out.

"All right! Road trip!"

"What are you babbling about?" Naruto looks around excitedly.

"This is the first time in my whole life I've left the village!" Tazuna points at Naruto.

"Am I really expected to trust my life to this fool?" Kakashi sighs.

"I'm an elite ninja, and I'll be along too…" Naruto gets mad and goes into a speech about how he's an elite ninja and he's going to be the best Hokage ever and people will have to acknowledge him. We start walking and Sakura asks about foreign ninja.

"We shouldn't encounter any foreign ninja on a C-ranked mission." Kakashi nods and we keep walking. I notice a puddle. There shouldn't be any puddles, not when it hasn't rained in days and it's been sunny enough to dry up any leftovers. I activate my sharingan and look sideways at Sasuke. He nods slightly and we walk ahead of Kakashi.

Chains rattle and I look back. Two ninja have wrapped a chain around Kakashi and pull. The chain cuts him to pieces. Substitution. The two attackers go for Naruto next. Sasuke jumps up and locks the chain to a tree with a shuriken and kunai. I jump over and land on the device connecting the chain to the two ninja. I put my hands down and kick them in the head, pushing them away from the tree and separating the chain from the devices. One goes for Naruto and the other goes for Tazuna. Naruto is frozen in fear and I get ready to protect him.

"Get back sir!" Sakura steps in front of Tazuna with a kunai raised, but she's trembling in fear. Sasuke rushes over to block the attack. Kakashi acts in two steps, one step, he grabs the guy from in front of me and Naruto, the second step, and he stops the second from attacking Sasuke and the others. I help Naruto stand up. Kakashi used the art of substitution.

"I'm sorry, Naruto. I should have moved to help you sooner, you were injured. It never occurred to me that you would freeze up. Good job, Sasuke, Karin."

"Are you okay, scaredy cat?" I roll my eyes and pull out my med-pack.

"Naruto. There isn't time for fighting. Their claws are poisoned. I need to get your wound cleaned out or you could die. Keep as still as possible until I can open the wound and drain the poison." I open the pack and pull out a scalpel.

"Shouldn't we go back to the village? We need an anesthetic before we can open that wound!" Naruto stabs his hand with a kunai. Idiot.

"Naruto, what are you doing? Stop that!" He's going to kill himself from loss of blood at this rate! I grab the kunai and pull out a bandage. "It's good that you're draining the poison, but anymore and you could really die." He freaks out and I start bandaging his hand. The wound is already healing! That's strange.

"What's wrong? Am I gonna be okay?"

"It looks like you'll be fine. If you want, I have some pain killers in my bag. You can take one of those to dull the pain in your hand, if you want."

"No thanks." I put my scalpel back in the case and put my med-pack back in my bag.

"I didn't know you knew medicine, Karin."

"I only know basics, just enough to handle minor wounds on the field."

"You're carrying a full set of surgeon's tools." I nod and wipe my hands on the grass, cleaning the blood off.

"And?"

"You know more than basics." I shrug and start walking.

"Are we going or not?" Even Sasuke looks surprised, I wonder why. He knows the extent of my medical skills, considering I'm the one who healed him after Deidara almost killed him. I have all of the qualifications of a skilled black ops member or even a medic.


	6. The Bingo Book

**Emotional Silence 5- The Bingo Book**

"Before we go any further, let's rest and break for lunch." We nod and I look around the clearing.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm keeping watch. If there are actual ninja after Tazuna, we need to stay on guard at all times." Kakashi nods.

"Good idea. I'd like to speak with you, so Sasuke can keep an eye out." We both nod and Sasuke gets up. I walk over to Kakashi and look up at him.

"What?"

"Just what is the extent of your talents?" I frown.

"What you have seen."

"You keep surprising me." I sigh.

"You're going to bother me about this aren't you?" He nods, so I start talking again. "I have the qualifications to be a full-fledged black ops Jounin."

"Then why are you only a Genin?" I look over at Sasuke.

"Our parents told me to take care of him, being the stronger twin. I can't do that if I'm of a higher rank."

"Does he know this?" I nod.

"There are no secrets between myself and my brother."

"I don't get it."

"What?"

"If you're that strong, shouldn't you have passed the graduation exam before?" I nod.

"I failed intentionally, they have a knack for calling me for the test after Sasuke; if he didn't pass, I would ensure that I didn't pass either." It pisses Sasuke off that I do that too.

"How long have you been able to use sharingan?"

"None of your business. And I could ask you the same question." I hold up my bingo book.

"Where did you get that?" I smile.

"Where does anyone get a bingo book? I bought it from a friend."

"So, you found my name then?" I nod.

"And I've also deduced that if whoever wants Tazuna dead is hiring rogue ninja, he'll be hiring those who are strong enough to warrant a place in this book. Those two, the Demon twins of Kirigakure no Satou, are in here as well. Even though they are only Chunin. If they weren't able to defeat us, then the person behind this will probably send someone stronger next. Most likely, according to my observations, the demon of the Bloody mist, former Kirigakure ANBU Black Ops Captain Momochi Zabuza."

"You're smarter than you appear. I didn't understand half of what you just said." I roll my eyes and put the book back in my bag.

"Now, I think we've rested enough. The more time we waste sitting around, the less time we have to prepare for another attack." I walk back to the group and sit by Naruto. "Let me check your hand." He nods and I undo the bandage. Perfectly healed. I pull out a bottle of water and pour a little over his hand, to clean the blood off. Then, I put a new bandage around his hand; I don't think he's noticed that it's fully healed.

I'm sure the wound still hurts, considering he severed muscle with that kunai earlier. He should have allowed me to open the wound using a more delicate instrument so there wouldn't be the risk of permanent damage to his hand. I wonder. Jinchuriki are fabled to have amazing healing abilities due to the immense chakra of the Bijuu sealed within them. Is it possible that Naruto is a jinchuriki? Perhaps the legendary Kyuubi that attacked the village twelve years ago?

I pour water over the dirty bandage and clean it quickly. I need to wash it in a stream or lake with the cleaning supplies in my pack, but for now this will be fine. We start walking again and get a boat to the wave country. It smells like salt water, so it's not a good idea to clean that bandage here. There's a heavy fog and I can't see anything very well.

"I have a bad feeling about this…"

"We'll be able to see the bridge soon, on the other side of that is Nami no Kuni." The bridge comes into view.

"Wow! It's huge!"

"Keep it down! The mist will keep us out of sight from here, but from here on we need to cut our engines and row. We'll get in big trouble if Gatou catches us." When we were resting, Tazuna explained who was after him and why. I have a strong feeling that we're going to encounter Zabuza before we get to Tazuna's home. We make landfall and get out of the boat. "This is as far as I go, take care of yourselves."

"I'm going to go ahead and keep an eye out." Kakashi nods and I jump into the trees. A shuriken flies into the trees, barely missing me. I stick my head down and glare at Naruto. "Be careful with those! That was me you idiot! You could kill someone throwing shuriken around aimlessly!"

"Sorry!" I pull my head up and look around. There's a white rabbit in a nearby bush. That's strange. At this time of year, the rabbit's fur should be turning brown. That means…another shuriken flies through the air and barely misses the rabbit's head. The rabbit swoons and passes out. I touch my forehead. That rabbit was kept in a cage and let out as a distraction. I activate my sharingan and jump out of the tree. I push Sasuke and Tazuna down.

"Take cover!" Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi duck just as a giant sword flies through the air where our heads were, stopping by embedding itself in a tree. A man lands on the hilt and looks over his shoulder at us. Momochi Zabuza. I was right. We stand up.

"Well, if it isn't Momochi Zabuza, the kid who ran off and left the land of Water." Naruto gets ready to attack and I grab his shoulders. Kakashi holds out his arm. "Don't interfere, give me room. This one is on a different plane from our previous opponents." He lifts his hand to his Hitai-ate. "And if I have to face him, it had better be, like this. This may be a bit rough." He lifts his Hitai-ate from over his eye and opens the eye, marred by a long scar, revealing the sharingan.

"Kakashi the Copy Ninja, I presume. If it isn't too much trouble, could you surrender the old man?" I look back at Sasuke and nod. He pulls out a kunai and gets in position, as do I.

"Assume the Manji Battle Formation. Protect Tazuna-san. All of you stay out of this fight. That's the teamwork that this situation demands. And now, Zabuza, shall we?"

"The sharingan so early in this encounter? I'm honored!" I look up at him. "Oh ho! Two of you have it?" I smile.

"You keep calling it sharingan, what the heck is it?"

"Shinobi who have the sharingan eye are the elite that have mastered a form of ocular jutsu that allows you to discern and copy the three forms of Ninjutsu. It allows you to reflect the techniques cast back at the enemy. And there's more to it than just that. Those are the basic things known about the sharingan eye."

"Like what?"

"There's an extensive write up in most bingo books used by assassins of the different villages about Kakashi the Copy Ninja. The man who copied over a thousand techniques."

"Enough. As pleasant as this conversation has been, the time for talk is over. I'm on a very tight schedule to polish off the old man. But Kakashi, it looks like I'm going to have to kill you first." It's a good thing he has no idea how strong I am. Zabuza disappears and I spot him on the water, getting ready to use Mizu-bunshin. "Kirigakure no jutsu." The mist thickens, but I can still see him. Kakashi copies the Mizu-bunshin.

"He's gone!"

"He will come after me first."

"Momochi Zabuza of the Kirigakure Assassin Corps is a master of the art of silent killing. Letting your guard down around him gives you a free ticket to heaven."

"I haven't necessarily mastered every aspect of the sharingan, so all of you stay on your toes." This is about to get hairy.


	7. Double Sharingan

**Emotional Silence 6- Double Sharingan**

"What's with all this fog?" Sakura looks at me.

"Karin-san, how do you know so much about this guy?"

"No time for questions, keep on your guard."

"There are eight targets."

"What was that?"

"Throat, spinal column, lungs, liver, the jugular vein, the subclavical artery, heart, kidneys, so many choices, what vital, vulnerable place shall I choose?" The voice laughs. Kakashi starts gathering chakra. It would be a good idea if I did the same. There is no way that I can avoid showing at least half of my true talent here. I'm sure that the others are terrified by now, simply because of the shear amount of chakra being put out by me and Kakashi.

"Sasuke, calm down. Even if he gets me, I'll still protect you. I will _never_ let my comrades die."

"I wouldn't bet on that." I turn around and gasp. Zabuza came up right in the middle of us, ready to strike. Sasuke and Tazuna are the two that I have to protect at all costs. I promised that I would not allow him to die. I'm standing behind Tazuna, out of the immediate range of Zabuza and his sword. I push Tazuna back, out of the way and move around to the other side to protect Sasuke. Kakashi acts as well, rushing in and stabbing Zabuza with a kunai.

"Sensei behind you!"

"Karin!" We both turn to see Zabuza behind us. Neither of them are real though. Both copies slash through us. Sakura screams. I replaced myself with a Mizu-bunshin just in time, now I'm behind the double that attacked me.

"Don't move." Both Kakashi and I have them cornered. I cut the one's throat just as the real Zabuza comes up behind Kakashi. He attacks; Kakashi dodges but gets a swift kick to the chest. Kakashi lands in the water, throwing makebishi spikes on the ground to slow down Zabuza's follow up attack. Zabuza traps Kakashi in a sphere of water, so much for regrouping underwater. That leaves me as the only one that might stand a chance in a one on one fight with this guy.

"Little wannabe ninja. You look pretty cool, running around wearing those Hitai-ate like real ninja. Clothes don't make a Shinobi. You have to have the experience and skill to merit a spot in my bingo book to be a true Shinobi. We don't call your kind _ninja_, we call them…" He moves quickly and kicks Naruto, knocking his Hitai-ate off before going back and stomping on the fallen headband. "Brats."

"Everyone, listen! Take Tazuna and run! If he wants to keep me in this prison, he can't move! And those doppelgangers can't go very far from his real body! So get away from here!" That option was lost when Kakashi got captured. Naruto runs at Zabuza, unarmed like an idiot.

"Naruto, what are you thinking?"

"He's…"

"Stop you fool!"

"Idiot!" Zabuza hits Naruto back.

"What were you thinking attacking him alone like that? Genin like us can't hope to even scratch him!" Naruto smiles and gets up, holding his Hitai-ate.

"Hey you, with no eyebrows! Record this in your bingo book! The guy who's gonna be the next Hokage of Konohagakure no Satou. Uzumaki Naruto! Sasuke, listen up! There's something I want to tell you."

"What is that?"

"I have a plan."

"So, it's time for teamwork?" I smile. Great.

"Yep. Let's get wild!"

"Heh, you sound pretty sure of yourself. But, do you really think you stand a chance against me?" I smile and step forward.

"They may not, but I do."

"A little girl?" I smile and pull my hair back into a ponytail.

"I've never had the chance to fight someone of your caliber. It's an honor to be the one to kill you, Momochi-sempai." His eye twitches.

"You talk big for a kid." I put a hand on my hip.

"Well, this _kid's_ about to get her place in a bingo book today. You might want to know the name of your killer right? Uchiha Karin desu." I attack him, reaching into my bag for a few needles. "Like you said, there are eight vital places, but there are over a thousand points that can kill or paralyze if pierced by needle." I throw the needles through the doppelganger and at the real body. They fall short. I didn't throw them hard enough to allow for the slow from going through the double. Crap. I just left myself open to attack.

Another doppelganger shows and retaliates, grabbing me by the throat. Sasuke runs to my aid, throwing shuriken. He tosses me aside and catches Sasuke before throwing him into me as I get up. We slide back and he steps on us, putting all of his weight on our ribcages. Any more of this and we'll come out with broken bones. Naruto attacks using Kage-bunshin and distracts Zabuza enough for me and Sasuke to get out from under Zabuza's feet.

So much for killing him. I was hoping to get this over with and kill him in one strike. Instead, I managed to get, not only myself but, Sasuke hurt. I hope this plan of Naruto's is good. I grip my ribcage; I think he managed to break a bone. I hope they have decent medical care in that village. Zabuza pushes off Naruto's attack, throwing the fifty doppelgangers back. I notice a change in Naruto. He transforms into a weapon and hides in his bag while one of his doppelgangers appears to dig through the bag and throw a weapon at us.

"Sasuke!" Sasuke catches the weapon and realizes that it's the real Naruto. He hands the weapon to me as I pull out a second, identical weapon from my bag. I open the two shuriken at the same time, making it appear as though I only have the one weapon. I wince at a sharp pain in my ribs. He definitely broke at least one of my ribs. I sigh.

"Demon wind shuriken! Windmill of shadows!" I jump into the air and aim for the real Zabuza. I land and wince.

"Are you okay?" I nod and hold my chest.

"He broke at least one of my ribs." Zabuza catches the real shuriken while Naruto, still in the form of the weapon, goes at him from the shadow of the first. Zabuza jumps up to dodge it and Naruto transforms back into his normal self to throw a kunai at Zabuza. He doesn't manage to dodge that one without removing his hand from the sphere of water, freeing Kakashi. Now, we can win this.

I can't fight any more without risking this wound getting worse. Zabuza starts to attack Naruto with the shuriken, but Kakashi stops it with his hand, the metal part of his glove protects his hand from major damage. "Sasuke, we still need to protect Tazuna." He nods and helps me walk over to Tazuna and Sakura. Kakashi and Zabuza jump away from each other and land on the water, doing hand signals in rapid succession.

"Ushi, saru, u, ne, inoshishi, ushi, uma, tori, ne, tora, inoshishi, tori, mi, ushi, hitsuji, mi, inoshishi, hitsuji, ne, jin, saru, tori, tatsu, tori, uma, ushi, hitsuji, tora, mi, ne, saru, u, inoshishi, tatsu, hitsuji, ne, ushi, saru, tori, jin, ne, inoshishi, jin, saru, tori, tatsu, tori, ushi, uma, hitsuji, tora, mi, ne, saru, u, inoshishi, tatsu, hitsuji, ne, ushi, saru, tori, jin, ne, inoshishi, tori!" They chant at the same time, amazing, I don't think that even I could manage to copy something that advanced at the same time the technique is being used. "Suiton! Water Dragon Missile!" Two dragons of water rise from the water and attack each other, negating the attacks and showering us with water. The water builds up.

"Sasuke, Sakura!" They nod and we get in front of Tazuna. The water flows quickly past us, beating against our bodies. Pain shoots through my body from my ribs, causing me to wince. I look up when I sense a large amount of chakra being put into one attack. Those hand signals are for…the Water Vortex! I brace myself on the ground, gripping a kunai that I just stabbed into the ground, as the water rushes past us again, twice as strong as the last move. Water gets in my nose and I gag on a mouthful of it.

The water recedes and I struggle to my feet, still gagging on water. I look up and see that Kakashi has Zabuza pinned to a tree and is about to deal the finishing blow. Zabuza falls forward and light shines slightly off of three needles in his neck. Those aren't the killing points! Whoever just threw those was aiming to save him by temporarily killing him! I jump to my feet and gag. Sasuke turns around and helps me stay straight. I smile and close my eyes for a moment; it's using too much energy to keep using sharingan. When I open my eyes, I can't get a steady fix on anything and I can't understand what's being said. I fall forward and black out.


	8. Medical Ninjutsu

**Emotional Silence 7- Medical Ninjutsu**

"Karin? Are you okay?" I open my eyes and sit up. I shudder and wince at the pain in my chest. What happened? I remember.

"What happened to Zabuza?"

"A hunter ninja killed him and took his corpse away." I shake my head and touch my side. I sigh and use a medical technique to heal my ribs.

"That wasn't a real hunter ninja. I know enough about the vital points in the human body to be able to tell that whoever that was didn't intend to kill him. He'll probably show his ugly face within a week. Um, how long was I out?"

"Only a few hours. Long enough for us to get here."

"And where is here?"

"Tazuna-san's house." I nod and press my side. It's sore still, but the bones aren't broken anymore.

"Was anyone else injured?" Sakura nods and looks over at Kakashi. He's unconscious on a mat across the room. I get up and walk over to him. "Sakura-san, will you reach into my bag and get out the med pack and the fabric case? Be careful I have quite a few very sharp weapons in there as well." She nods and pulls out the two containers from the pack. I set them on the floor beside me and open the med pack.

I examine Kakashi, trying to discern the extent and location of any injuries. His hand, where he stopped Zabuza's retaliation against Naruto, chest, where he was kicked feels like three ribs broken, and then there is a nasty cut on his leg, probably from that first fight because it's infected. The force and repercussions of using the sharingan so much at one time caused both of his ankles to end up sprained and his left knee displaced. One shoulder was pulled out of the socket and one side of his collar bone is broken.

I sigh and put a hand over his chest. I use medical Ninjutsu to reduce the damage to his bones and then open the cut on his hand with my scalpel. "Do you need any help?" I nod.

"I need a bowl of water, an empty bowl, and two rags. Make sure the water is warm." Sakura nods and gets up. In a few minutes, she's back with the things that I asked for. I take the empty bowl and put it under Kakashi's hand to catch the excess blood while I clean the wound.

There isn't any damage to the muscle so I don't have to worry about that. I grab a bandage from my pack and cover the wound. I'll have to bandage the areas that were broken, to help prevent them from being broken again. I move on to the cut on his leg. It's so infected that I have to clean the outside before I can open the wound. I rinse out the rag and wipe off the area around and over the wound.

"Idiot. He should have said something about this before. I would have treated it right then." I clean the scalpel with alcohol and the dry rag before using it to reopen the cut. I open the bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide and, using a cotton ball, put a small amount of the liquid on the wound.

When the cut stops bubbling, I wipe it off. I repeat the process in order to insure that all of the infection has been cleaned out. Satisfied, I cap the bottle and put a bandage on the cut. Now, I can wrap the other areas to prevent further damage. I can only do so much.

"Sakura, help. Lift him up so I can get these injuries properly wrapped."

"But you used medical Ninjutsu to heal them."

"I do not have the amount of chakra required to fully heal anything more than a sprain. You'll notice that I'm being careful with my movements even though I healed myself." She nods and helps. She has the potential to be a great medical ninja, if she had the proper training. We finish and I clean my scalpel again, thoroughly, before putting it back in its place in the case.

"Why do you clean it like that?"

"Because, you risk cross contamination if you don't properly clean medical tools. And also, the blade dulls quickly if you don't keep it clean." She nods and I finish putting my supplies away. "Before I get these put in my pack, was anyone else hurt?" She nods.

"Yea."

"You look okay." She nods again.

"I am. But Naruto and Sasuke…" I sigh and pick up the bowls and rags.

"Then, go clean these out and fill the one bowl back up with hot water. Get clean rags and apologize to Tazuna for us using them so quickly." She nods and hurries out of the room. I get up and carry my supplies to the next room. Sasuke's resting on a mat. I tap on the wall. "Sasuke, wake up."

He sits up slightly. "What?"

"You got hurt didn't you?"

"I'm fine, Nee-chan. Don't worry." I shake my head and sit beside him.

"Amuse me and let me make sure." He sighs and lies back down. I gently touch his ribs, to make sure no bones were broken. Probably just bruised, he's wincing from the contact but no bones are broken. I check the rest of him and nod. "You're right. You're perfectly fine. Minus a few cuts and scrapes. Nothing major."

"I told you." I get up.

"Where are you going?"

"To check on Naruto. I'm the only skilled medic on the team and I want to make sure that everyone is all right." He nods and I walk out of the room. I locate Naruto and examine him, much to his protest. His only problem is the large amount of scrapes and cuts on his hands. "What did you do? Beat the crap out of a tree?"

"Try the ground." I roll my eyes and clean the wounds. Then I cover the cuts with bandages and pack up my things. "Thanks."

"As a medical ninja, it is my duty to ensure that my team is constantly in top condition. But, you're welcome." I leave the room and put my stuff back in my bag.

"So you're the one that did all this."

"Yes, may I ask who you are?"

"I'm Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter."

"Karin desu." She smiles and leaves the room. The others come into the room to wait for Kakashi to wake up. When he does, Sakura asks about the kid that took down Zabuza. When Kakashi finishes his explanation, I sigh. "That kid wasn't the real thing though. He was just posing to throw us off."

"How do you know? You were unconscious through that entire encounter!" I shake my head.

"Yes, but I saw Zabuza go down. I was still using sharingan, so I saw the needles in his neck. Those needles were not used to kill him, only put him in a near death state. By the time Kakashi-sensei and I are recovered enough to fight, he'll be back. And that kid will probably be with him."

"So that means we need to be prepared for the worst. If we're wrong and Zabuza really is dead, there might be even stronger enemies under the employ of Gatou."

"How can we prepare? You can barely move Sensei! Even with Karin's medical jutsu!"

"True, but I plan to increase your training. All four of you."

"What will a little training now do to help against that kind of enemy?"

"While I was immobilized, who was it that saved me? All of you have improved immensely, especially Naruto."

"But how can we train and not know when or where Zabuza will strike again, if he is alive?"

"We have a minimum of a week. It takes a week for the average Jounin to fully recover from a near death state."

"Okay, I have one question! How do you know so much about this, Karin? You're the same age as we are!" I sigh.

"Because, I have trained and studied extensively the human body and the repercussions of such attacks. I am, quite literally, as skilled at medical and regular Ninjutsu as Kakashi."

"How is that?"

"Because you dunce! It's called training! You don't think I mastered sharingan on a whim do you?" I sit back and take a deep breath to calm myself.

"It doesn't matter anyway. What does matter is that this team consists of four of the most talented Genin. We start in the morning."


	9. Tree Climbing Exercises

**Emotional Silence 8- Tree Climbing Exercises**

"So, it's been decided! The new training regimen starts today! But first, let's discuss the basis of your ninja powers, the energies of your body, chakras." I sigh and climb a tree to wait for the lecture to end.

"Karin-san…how did you do that? You didn't use your hands!" I sigh and flip over so I'm upside down on the branch.

"If you were paying attention in class, you would know. I concentrated chakra at a certain point in my body and walked up the tree. If I'm not mistaken, Kakashi, this is the exercise that you plan to have us do." He nods.

"Exactly right." Kakashi walks up the same tree and looks down at the others from beside me.

"How will this make us stronger?"

"If you can master your chakra enough to maintain your position on the tree for a length of time, in theory, no jutsu is beyond your control. It also builds the stamina required to properly control chakra in battle. It is extremely difficult to maintain proper control in a constantly changing environment such as the battlefield."

"In essence, while doing this exercise, you will be learning a skill that could very well save your lives. Now, enough talk. Time to start." He throws three kunai at the ground in front of the others. "Use the kunai to score the bark of the tree you are trying to climb. The goal is to mark the tree at a higher point each time. I don't expect any of you to reach the treetop on your first try."

"No sweat! I'm the fastest developing on this team right?"

"Less talk, more action. Choose your tree and up you go!" I sit down on top of the branch and watch, tired of the blood rushing to my head. The three of them gather chakra to their feet and run towards the trees.

Sakura makes it to the lowest branch easily, while Naruto doesn't get one step up the trunk of the tree. Sasuke gets a few feet but loses control and leaves a foot-shaped dent in the tree trunk before marking the trunk and jumping down. "Well, now we know which of you has best control of their chakras, the girls."

"Looks like it's a race between me and Sakura to see who gets past the Hokage! Despite Naruto's boasts!"

"And it's obvious which of the Uchiha elite twins is the strongest!" Someone has to encourage them. And the only way to encourage boys is to give them a challenge. They both start again. Kakashi walks down the tree.

"Stay off those ankles as much as possible, Kakashi." He nods and walks off.

"Sakura, go watch Tazuna!" She nods and jumps out of the tree. That leaves me alone with the two boys. Figures. I jump down and practice fighting. A graceful flow of movements that helps me concentrate on controlling chakra until I get the right amount of my fire based chakra gathered in one area so I can manipulate fire. According to Oka-san, I'm the only person to ever master this form of chakra control. I get the right control and start spinning a web of fire around myself, blowing it through the tips of my fingers and toes in conjunction with my dance-like fighting style.

"Wow! What technique is that?" I lose control in that moment and lose the web of flame.

"It's not a technique. It's a fire style fighting form. Maybe, if you're lucky to get enough control of your chakra, you can manage a similar fighting form." Naruto fumes and runs at the tree again, falling after a few feet and increasing the size of the lump on his skull. I was trying to distract them, and I succeeded. That sort of control requires total concentration and if you allow something to distract you, you will fail. I start my practice again, immediately regaining control over the fire and recreating the web.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" I nod, able to maintain control this time and lower the web to a fizzle before I stop moving. I don't want to catch the forest on fire. "How did you walk up the tree earlier?"

"The same way I'm able to control flames like that. It requires total concentration on the area that you wish the chakra to gather. When you've gathered an adequate amount of chakra in that area, you can walk up the tree." Sasuke nods and closes his eyes. After a moment, he opens his eyes and runs at the tree, climbing higher than before. I nod and look at the sky. It's about noon.

I look at the trees. Sasuke is still getting way higher than Naruto is, probably halfway to the lowest branch. These trees don't have any branches for about two meters up the trunk. And Naruto has only managed about half that. "Hey! Let's break for lunch!" They stop and walk over. I pull out three bento boxes and hand two to the boys.

"Cool! Thanks!" We sit down and eat.

"So, Karin-san, how come you're not climbing the trees?"

"You saw me climb the tree earlier."

"But can you get to the top?"

"I maintained control long enough to watch your idiotic self land flat on your skull twice and help Kakashi explain the exercise. And on top of that, it requires an immense amount of control to use that specific style of fighting that I was practicing."

"What, playing with fire?"

"No you idiot. Controlling flame. There's a difference between playing with fire and manipulating flame." He nods slowly and hands me the empty lunch box. My eye twitches and I put the box in my bag.

"I wanna see you get to the top!"

"How about I make that lump on your head three times bigger? Leave me alone." I put Sasuke's bento in the bag and pick up the bag. "See you later." I walk back to Tazuna's house and drop my bag in the room. Kakashi looks over at me.

"Tired of training?"

"No, Naruto kept breaking my concentration and I almost set the forest aflame. So we ate lunch and I came back here. Sasuke has made it about a meter up the tree trunk and Naruto is catching up. He's managed about three fourths of the first meter."

"What were you doing that would put the forest in flame?"

"Manipulating fire, of course." I sit down and look out the window. I really should be working to get stronger. The stronger I am, the easier it will be to defeat Deidara when the time comes.

"How can you do that?"

"Why is everyone pestering me with questions? I have enough control over my fire based chakra that I am able to concentrate it in the tips of my fingers and toes in order to create and manipulate fire in the air around me."

"A kid your age shouldn't have enough chakra, or control to do that."

"Well, obviously I do. Sasuke has just as immense a reserve of chakra that I have. The only thing that creates the difference in our strength is the fact that he has barely been able to graze the surface of it. You'll notice that I'm the one who is able to use sharingan, while he has yet to unlock that gift. Speaking of which, how did you happen upon your sharingan? It is a trait specific to a number of the Uchiha clan."

"My teammate."

"I knew it! Uchiha Obito was your teammate!"

"How do you know about…?"

"You're not the only one that reads the names on that stone. Both of my parents are named there as well. If Sasuke would talk to anyone but me, he'd tell you that I go there almost all the time."

"Why?"

"Because, I just do. I have a feeling I know why you're always late."

"Enlighten me."

"You're at the other memorial stone. The one specifically for Uchiha Obito."

"Good guess." I notice something.

"The wound on your leg, it's opened up."

"I guess it has." I roll my eyes and pull out my med pack.

"Why didn't you say something about this cut after the fight against those Chunin? It was infected by the time we got here."

"I guess I didn't notice it." I sigh and change the bandage. "You're very talented."

"I know you're not trying to flirt. If you are, I'd have to punch you." I go back to my bed and pull out my sketch book.

"What are you drawing?" I shrug.

"None of your business. Sasuke's the only one that gets to see these."

"You two are pretty close." I nod.

"Yea. It's probably because we're twins. Though…" I stop talking and stare at the page. I sigh and put the book under my pillow.

"Something wrong?"

"Nope." I lie down and go to sleep.


	10. The Life Changing Day

**Emotional Silence 9- The Life-Changing Day**

"_Good morning, Karin-chan."_

"_Oh, good morning, Deidara-kun." We sit down._

"_Where's Sasuke?"_

"_Sleeping. We stayed up late last night training, and since we don't have school today, he decided to sleep in."_

"_Oh, okay." I look over at the note board._

'Nee-chan, we need eggs and some vegetables. I put a list on the counter! It's your turn to go to the market!'

"_What's wrong?"_

"_Oh, I have to go shopping."_

"_For what?"_

"_Groceries."_

"_Oh, do you need help?"_

"_No, I can handle it. I'm not getting much." I get up and look for the list. I hate Sasuke's handwriting. It sucks and I can barely read it. He should be fine for an hour or so while I get these few things. All we need is eggs, carrots, celery, and broccoli. I'll probably grab some zucchini and fruit while I'm out. We're getting low on those as well. "I'll be back in an hour or so. Will you watch Sasuke for me?"_

_Deidara nods and I walk to the door. It's winter, and very cold out, so I put on my sweater before putting on my shoes and running out the door and to the market. I get what I need and pay. On my way out, I notice a set of weapons on sale._

_Christmas is coming up and I haven't gotten a gift for Sasuke yet. The weapons are nice, but you have to be a Chunin to buy them. That's annoying. Maybe I can get Deidara to come with me later and get them. I nod and run back to the house._

_I stop at the door. Something's not right. Maybe Sasuke just hasn't got up yet. I nod. That's what it is. Sasuke's still sleeping. He usually argues with Deidara every waking moment that he's around. I open the door and stare. "Deidara! What are you doing? Get away from him!" I run into the house and step between Deidara and Sasuke._

"_Nee…chan…"_

"_Sasuke! Get out of my house! Now!" Deidara backs up._

"_Oh, come on, Karin-chan! He's not dead, yea!" I attack him._

"_Get out of my house!" He dodges quickly. I can't keep up! I duck and try again. Suddenly, maybe because of my need to protect Sasuke, everything becomes clear and I can see every move just before he makes it. I dodge and attack him. He seems to be moving in slow motion. This must be what sharingan is! I must be using sharingan! Deidara gets away before I manage to injure him, disappearing._

_I run to check on Sasuke. He's unconscious and he's lost a lot of blood. "Sasuke!" He stirs slightly but doesn't wake up. I check for a pulse. It's faint but he's still alive. I run to the bathroom and get out the first aid kit. I run back to the living room and drop the box. Deidara is standing in the door. "Get away from here! And you had better hope I never find you! Because if I do, I_ will _kill you."_

"_I'm so scared!" I run up to him and set his shirt aflame using the fire manipulation that I mastered before my parents died. He runs off, trying to put out the flames. I think I got my point across._

"_Nee-chan…?" I shut the door and turn around._

"_Sasuke!" I run over and pick up the first aid kit._

"_What…happened?"_

"_Shush, don't talk. At least not until I get you healed up." I start using medical Ninjutsu to heal the numerous wounds. This is horrible! I won't be able to heal him fully, just enough to keep him alive. Five ribs broken, two went through the skin, both of his arms are broken in three places, both legs are also broken in three places, and on top of it all, there are numerous cuts and lacerations. He must be in so much pain. "I'll kill him."_

"_What?"_

"_Don't talk. That bastard's gonna be in so much pain that he's gonna be begging for the end." I fume and sit back. I don't have enough chakra to heal, even slightly, anything more than his ribs! I'll have to set the bones and make him stay in bed until he's healed. He shudders, probably from pain. It must hurt horribly, so many injuries, and all of those cuts exposed to the air. "It's okay, Sasuke. You're gonna be fine. I promise." He can't die. I promised Oka-san and Otou-san that I would protect him with my last breath. I try again._

"_Stop…you'll kill yourself…" I can tell that I'm crying. I promised myself I wouldn't cry after the funeral last year._

"_Stop talking!" I rock back and forth, biting my thumb._

"_Just…get help…"_

"_No! I'm not leaving you alone again!"_

"_At least…go next door…and get someone to help…get me to my room…"_

"_Stop talking!" Someone knocks on the door. I look around. The place is a mess, blood's everywhere, and all over me from examining Sasuke. I get up and open the door. The Hyuuga kid from next door is standing outside. He's a year older than we are. I can't let him see me like this!_

"_Uchiha-san, is something wrong? I heard a noise and I was worried…" I hesitate to answer, because I don't want to worry Neji any more than necessary. It's bad enough he was already worried. "Well?" I look back at Sasuke. He smiles at me. Cheater. Neji notices the state of things through the crack in the door and gasps. "I'll be right back with help!"_

"_No, wait!" Dang! He left too quickly. I don't trust the hospital…maybe I can convince them to just let me take care of Sasuke here and get them to help me take him to his bed. I sit back down beside Sasuke and start cleaning his cuts. Someone knocks on the door again. "It's open!" I'm pretty sure it's Neji, back with help. Neji and two adults walk into the house._

"_What happened here?" I stop and stare at the ground._

"_It doesn't matter."_

"_Well, what do you plan to tell them at the hospital?" I look up._

"_Nothing. He's staying here!"_

"_Someone's irritable." Someone touches my shoulder and I look back. I shrug Neji's hand off and start rocking again._

"_Uchiha-san, he needs to be properly treated."_

"_He'll be properly treated here! I'm not an idiot! I can use medical Ninjutsu!" The two adults exchange a glance then look down at Sasuke. He looks right back at them._

"_Karin can…take care of me…just get me…to my room…" He winces between every group of words. I start crying again. The two Hyuuga carefully pick him up, he groans in pain._

"_Be careful!" I get up and lead them to his room. They set him on the bed and I go back to cleaning the wounds. "Thank you for helping." They nod and start for the door. Neji watches me from the door and doesn't leave with the two adults that he brought._

"_Uchiha-san, do you need any help?"_

"_No, I've got it under control." I have a problem. I can't get Sasuke's shirt off without hurting him more. It's ripped up so I pull one of the holes, ripping it more until the shirt is completely open. I look around and realize that I left my tools in my room this morning. I get up and run to my room, almost running into Neji. "Why are you still here?"_

"_I have a feeling you _can't _handle this on your own and you're just acting tough for your brother's sake."_

"_Well, you're wrong. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of my brother, _without _help. Now, I would appreciate it if you went home." I walk past him and back to Sasuke's room, carrying my tool kit. I open it up on the bedside table and pull the scissors out._

_I cut the last of the hole open and clean underneath. I have another problem. I need to wrap a bandage around his chest and I can't lift him up while doing that, much less without hurting him. And I don't have enough chakra to keep up a shadow doppelganger for more than a moment. And I have no idea how I'm supposed to handle his lower body. That's a bit awkward. I sigh and look at the door. Neji's still there._

"_Fine."_

"_Told you that you would need help." I roll my eyes and get out the wraps._

"_I'll let you help, just don't annoy me anymore."_

"_Just tell me what to do."_

"_Gently lift him up so I can get this bandage around him."_

"_You know…"_

"_Don't talk, Sasuke!" I'm aggravated and tired and I have to at least get his wounds covered before I can get some rest to recover my chakra. After I take a nap, I should be able to, at least partially, heal his arms and hopefully his legs. This is frustrating. I hate this. I'm seven years old and worried about taking care of my injured brother, alone. Neji helps, as carefully as possible, but Sasuke still winces every time we either touch or move him._

_We're alone, to fend for ourselves. No parents to take care of the house or buy the groceries. We were stuck having to grow up at six. At least I got his ribs set and partially healed earlier. That would have made it worse._

_The whole time we're doing this, Neji is completely silent. I wonder why. You'd think that he'd be trying to cheer me up, like anyone else would. A nice gesture, but still. This is the last time I'm going to get close to someone. After today, I'm not going to get close to anyone…ever again._

"_Um, I can stay and help, if you want."_

"_No, thank you for helping though."_

"_If you need any help, just come over." I nod and Neji leaves the house._

"_He likes you…"_

"_Yea, him and every other boy in the village. Shallow absurd idiots that only like me because they think I'm pretty. Will you be okay long enough for me to take a shower?"_

"_Yea. Thanks for doing this."_

"_You're my brother, Sasuke. I'm not going to sit back and watch when you're hurt. I shouldn't have left you alone."_

"_It's okay, Nee-chan." It's funny, I'm two minutes older than he is, but I'm the one who acts like the youngest. In some areas. I walk out of the room and take a shower._


	11. The Last Day

**Emotional Silence 10- The Last Day**

"Hey, wake up. You're on guard duty today." I sit up and look around.

"Did Sasuke and Naruto get back from training last night?"

"No, they're still gone."

"Kakashi, how are you feeling?"

"Good as new, thanks to your medical skills." I smile.

"I try."

"Tomorrow, I'll be going with you and Sakura to the bridge. It's been a week already." I nod.

"If you're fully recovered, no doubt we'll be seeing Zabuza again in the next few days." The three of us walk downstairs and get breakfast. The door opens and the boys walk in, Sasuke supporting Naruto. "Good morning! How high up the tree did you get?"

"You're finally back, looking like something the cat drug in."

"Heh, we both, made it to the top of the tree."

"That's great! You can go on guard duty with us tomorrow then!"

"Right. Starting tomorrow, you two will help Sakura and Karin guard Tazuna-san."

"Alright!" Naruto yells and they both fall backwards.

"Idiot!" I get up and help them get up.

"First thing you two are doing, however, is getting some rest! You've been training almost nonstop since we started this!"

"Oh, come on, Karin-san!"

"I'm the medical ninja in this group, so what I say about your health goes! After breakfast, you're under house arrest and confined to your rooms!" The others laugh at my serious display. This is bad; I'm able to act like I do only around Sasuke with these people. Friendship is dangerous. It almost got us killed last time. That dream I had last night, it's been coming back to me every night for the past week. I can't get rid of it. Is it because I'm slowly becoming friends with these two?

We eat breakfast. "Sorry Sakura, I don't trust these two to stay here and rest for the day. I'm going to have to leave you alone for today."

"That's all right."

"Father, you and Naruto are two of a kind! Don't work yourself to death!" I look over at Inari. He seems upset about something, again.

"What's wrong?"

"Why do you wear yourself out trying? No matter how hard you train, you'll never be a match for Gatou's thugs! You act all cool and talk tough, but big strong guys like them are always too much for those weaker than them! They'll destroy you!" Inari has finally lost it.

"Shut up, I'm not you and I'm not gonna lose."

"Just watching you ticks me off! You go running your mouth when you don't know anything! This isn't your town! And you don't know a thing about me! You're always clowning around and having fun, you don't know a thing about suffering or loneliness or what my life is like!"

"So you think it's noble to star in a melodrama and treat everyone around you like guests to your pity party? It takes a really big man to sit around and cry like that, you brat! You big baby!" That might have been a bit too far…Inari's really upset now.

"Naruto! You went too far!" I get up and follow Inari out of the room.

"May I join you?" I sit down on the deck beside Inari. "You know, I'm sure Naruto wasn't trying to be mean with what he said. He just isn't graceful with his words. Your grandfather told us about your father, Inari. I level with you. It's hard to lose someone you love. And Naruto, he grew up without _any_ parents, he was all alone growing up."

"Really?" I nod.

"Yea. He's always the one that you wouldn't expect to be upset about things, because he's always joking around. But, if you think about it, I think it's just because he got tired of crying about it. I think he knows exactly what your father did, what it means to be truly strong."

"What do you know about it huh?" I look up at the sky.

"Let's just say, my parents died too. I had to grow up when I was your age. When…you have something precious to you, that you feel you need to protect with every breath in your body, you can understand what strength is. Your father was strong, because he gave his life to protect the village and the people that he loved. I think Naruto knows what that strength is because he would give his life to protect the ones close to him."

I get up and go back to the house. "Just think about it. Maybe you should stop crying too." I go inside and glare at the boys. "Well, are you finished eating?"

"She's kinda scary. She goes from being sweet and sensitive one second to being a cruel dictator the next."

"That's my sister for you." Sasuke gets up and starts for the stairs. I glare pointedly at Naruto and he runs upstairs as well.

"You're scary sometimes, Karin-san."

"Kakashi, perhaps you should get some more rest as well? You don't want to take any chances." He nods and goes upstairs as well.

"Why do I have the feeling that your children will live under very strict rules?"

"That won't happen. I'm a lesbian." I walk upstairs and check on the three guys.

*Sakura's POV*

I wonder if she was telling the truth. No one would lie about their preferences like that! "Come on then, Sakura-san. I've got work to do!" I nod and follow Tazuna-san out of the house and to the bridge. "She is pretty scary, you know."

"Yea. But she's serious about making sure everyone's healthy and ready for the worst." Right! Just because she's mean about it, doesn't mean that she's doing it out of cruelty.

"So, she and the other kid, the black haired one, they're siblings?"

"Twins actually. Back home, a lot of people call them the Uchiha Elite Twins. They both had top grades in school and obviously, they're both pretty talented."

"Looks like the girl's stronger though."

"Probably. Since she's at a Jounin level apparently."

"If she's that strong, then what's she doing on a team without being that rank?" I shrug.

"I don't know. They have strong connection. Maybe she didn't want to be separated from her brother." I've never thought of that. We have a million opportunities to graduate all through school, why did she wait to pass until Sasuke did?


	12. Second Wind

**Emotional Silence 11- Second Wind**

*Karin's POV*

"Take care of Naruto! He wore himself out to the point that he's been sleeping since yesterday morning!"

"Bye!" We start walking to the bridge with Tazuna. I have a bad feeling about this.

"Maybe we should wake him up."

"No, let him sleep. I have a feeling he'll be more useful there if he wakes up later."

"Now you can see the future too?"

"No, I just have a feeling. And my feelings are usually correct. I also have a feeling that we'll be encountering Zabuza and that kid today as well."

"Well, you're a great confidence booster, Karin-san." I shrug and we get to the bridge. All of the workers are injured and only one of them is still breathing! I knew it! That means that Inari and Tsunami are in danger as well. Mist swells around us.

"They're coming!" We get in the Manji Formation around Tazuna.

"Kakashi-sensei, that man we met, his Kirigakure no Jutsu, right?" Kakashi nods and I activate my sharingan. He's got Mizu-bunshin surrounding us, I can see the chakra emitting from them.

"It's been a while, Kakashi. And I see you've got those brats with you again. The little boy's trembling again, poor thing."

"I'm shaking with eagerness for a rematch."

"And the smart ass girl who said she would kill me as well I see."

"You're messing with the wrong team."

"Go ahead, Sasuke, Karin." We nod and in one swift movement, we both destroy every doppelganger before getting back to our positions.

"Seems my water doppelgangers were no match for you. It would seem the brats have matured quite a bit, into worthy rivals. Eh, Haku?"

"Indeed." A boy in an ANBU mask nods from behind Zabuza.

"Kakashi, is that the kid?" He nods.

"This one's mine. That was quite a show you put on before, but we're onto you now, and I hate ham actors."

"Impressive kid. Even if the water doppelgangers are a tenth as strong as the original."

"Don't forget, he had the girl's help." I straighten up.

"Well, you'll just have to see him work alone then."

"We're still on the offensive, go." Haku attacks quickly. He's so fast! There's no way Sasuke can survive this without unlocking sharingan! The water, it's still full of chakra! How did I just notice that? I should have noticed from the moment it hit the ground!

This is bad. The kid has one of Sasuke's hands blocked and is using hand signals with one hand. I thought I was the only person that managed that! The water rises up and turns into needles. Just as the needles attack, Sasuke gathers chakra into his feet and jumps away, throwing shuriken at Haku before landing and running in. His speed has improved immensely. For a moment, they fight. Haku manages to dodge every one of Sasuke's attacks but gets pushed back to where Zabuza is.

"You're fast, I'm faster." This isn't good. That kid is gathering an immense amount of chakra and the air is getting cold. Water rises up and crystallizes in a cage of mirrors around Sasuke. This kid possesses a Kekkei Genkai! Water and wind elements at the same time to create ice! This is bad. Haku steps into one of the mirrors and disappears.

This is really bad. That Kekkei Genkai is one of the most dangerous and vicious of the Kekkei Genkai from Kirigakure! Sasuke screams. I can see it. Haku is going from mirror to mirror throwing needles constantly at Sasuke! To believe this kid is able to control that ability to the point of that. The mirrors won't melt, so my fire dancing won't work to get him out of there. If I don't do anything to help, Sasuke will be killed!

"Sakura, stay with Tazuna." She nods and I throw a kunai at a gap in the mirrors. "Sasuke!" Haku catches the kunai but gets hit square in the mask by a shuriken from the opposite direction. Naruto!

"Uzumaki Naruto has arrived!" Idiot. Stealth is the best way to help in a situation like this and he announces his arrival and all but paints a target on himself. Naruto runs into the cage and my eye twitches. Now I really have to help them. Naruto's gonna get my brother killed! I use the art of instant movement and get close to the mirrors. Sasuke notices me and I nod.

He starts going through hand signals for the blaze of glory technique. I start gathering chakra for my fire dance. I've been building up my reserves of chakra this entire week, with my own form of training. We attack at the same time, sending flames at both sides of the mirrors. I was right; we didn't even make a dent. Crap. Haku grabs my hand and pulls me into the cage with the boys.

"Great. Just great." I pull out a kunai and block the flurry of needles that he throws at us, carefully keeping them from hitting vital points on either of them. The onslaught stops.

"You can see it?" I look up and smile.

"Well, if you just realized that, you're an idiot. I'm sure that Zabuza said something about me. He called me the smart ass girl that said she would kill him."

"I see why you thought you stood a chance."

"Well, let's just see if I can get out of here and make up for breaking my word then."

"You don't stand a chance." I pull out a handful of needles and look around. If the mirror is broken, he can't use it to travel around this cage. If I eliminate the mirrors one by one, I can limit his movements and we can beat him. The gaps between mirrors are big enough for us to run through, but I'm the only one fast enough to get through without getting killed.

I pull my hair back in a ponytail and aim. I hit the first mirror, cracking it. Now to see if my theory is correct. His reflection is broken. I run to the mirror, to retrieve the needles and get attacked in the process.

"Karin!" I dodge the attacks and retrieve the needles. He didn't use the mirror once during that attack. Perfect. My theory was correct. I wince. He got me!

"Naruto, try to get a weapon in the mirrors. If they're cracked even slightly, he doesn't seem to be able to use them." Naruto nods and uses Kage-bunshin to attack the mirrors. It puts Naruto in danger, but I can block any that would hit vital spots. And the more this kid uses this form of attacking, the quicker his chakra will wear down and the quicker we can get out of here.

As I expected, Haku attacks and destroys the doppelgangers. I jump up and block the most dangerous of his aiming, throwing my own needles at the mirror directly above me at the same time. I land the hit and land in a crouch beside Sasuke. "So, you've seen the flaw in my technique."

I smile and look up. He jumps from one mirror to another and grabs my needles in passing. He aims them at Sasuke. I push him out of the way and take the hit; he barely missed the vital points. "You both move well, but my next move will take you down."

Come on Sasuke, concentrate. I can tell that you can almost see his moves. Just a bit more concentration and you can use sharingan! I see it; his eyes change color, from black to red. It's only partial, but if he works with it enough, pretty soon he'll have the first level of sharingan mastered. Good.

The next attack rains on us. I dodge them while Sasuke pushes Naruto out of the way before either of them get hurt worse. "I see, so you two more than look alike. You must be of the same family, to possess the exact same Kekkei Genkai." I smile.

"Better than that."

"We're twins." That scream! Sakura!

"We should hurry and finish this." I only got two mirrors knocked out. Then I see it. He's going after Naruto! Sasuke runs to get in the way. I have to get there before he kills Sasuke! I move in the path of the assault and push Sasuke out of the way, taking the attack full on. He hits almost every vital point available to be hit in one move from the front.

"Karin!" I fall backwards, Sasuke catches me. "Karin!"

"I promised didn't I? That…I'd die…to protect you." My eyes are heavy; I can barely keep them open. This vow is more important to me than killing Deidara. I promised that I would protect Sasuke with my dying breath. Who knew that it would happen this soon?

"Karin! Don't die on me!" I close my eyes and everything goes black. Death isn't as painful as some would claim.


	13. Final Assault

**Emotional Silence 12- Final Assault**

*Sasuke's POV*

"Karin! Don't die on me! Wake up!" She doesn't stir.

"One down. Time to finish this." The guy goes after Naruto again. I want to stay where I am, to try to wake up my sister, but my body reacts again, running into the path of the attack, to protect Naruto. I wince as the needles hit me.

"Now get that lame expression off your face, you screw up."

"Why?" Why, he asks me why? If my body hadn't moved on its own, I would have let him die. Maybe, somehow, now he's my friend? This hurts almost as much as the last time I almost died. Maybe fate caught up with me today.

"I…used to _hate_ you…you know."

"Why, why did you? Why me? You should have just minded your own business!"

"How…should I know…? My body just…moved on its own…fool…!" I fall back but don't hit the ground. He must have caught me. "I…swore I wouldn't die…until I killed him…my older brother…thought that vow would save me…but…but don't you dare die…" Nee-chan, I'm coming. I close my eyes and lose consciousness.

*Sakura's POV*

What's going on in there? First Sasuke was yelling at Karin to wake up and now there's this huge chakra coming from there. I can hear the guy talking.

"He struck at me and without any sign of shirking, left his sister's side, and sacrificed himself to save you. They were both Shinobi worthy of the utmost respect, for sacrificing themselves like that, knowing full well that it was a trap. Is this the first time a comrade of yours has died? Such is the path of a Shinobi."

"Shut up." Sasuke…dead? Karin too? That's impossible! The strange chakra increases and blows the mirrors away. I can barely see it through this fog. But I can hear. It sounds like glass shattering. "You're the kid I met…yesterday." The immense chakra lessens.

"Why did you stop? I murdered your comrades, your beloved friend and his sister. And you still spare me?" That's strange. That strange chakra, was that Naruto? It sounds like the boy is talking to Naruto, but I can't make out what he's saying. It sounds like dogs are barking and growling at the same time that concrete is breaking.

"What are we hearing?" I can't see anything. The fog lessens slightly and I can see shapes. And now it sounds like a thousand birds are chirping around the bridge! The two people that I can see look like they're just standing there. One of them moves.

"Which one is Kakashi-sensei?" The mist clears and we can see them clearly.

"Isn't that the boy in the mask?" He stepped in the way of Kakashi-sensei's attack, to protect Zabuza!

"Kakashi-sensei!" I can see Naruto too! He's alive! Maybe that guy was bluffing about killing them. "Naruto! You're alive!!" Maybe, just maybe. "What about Sasuke and Karin? Naruto! Where are they?" He looks away. That means…no!

"I'll stay with you, so you won't be disobeying your Sensei's orders." Tazuna takes my hand and we run past Naruto, who's shuddering. Is it that bad? I stop and drop to my knees. I touch Sasuke's face, it's cold.

"He's so cold; this isn't an illusion is it?" I look up and see Karin in the same state, unmoving and dead. This is impossible! How could that one guy manage to kill them both?

"Don't hold back for my sake. There are times when it's alright to shed some good honest tears."

"I…always got perfect scores on all my tests in school. I memorized each and every one of the one hundred rules of conduct for ninja and Shinobi. I used to write them out with pride. We had a test one day and the question was…_What is the twenty-fifth rule of Shinobi conduct?_ Just like always, I wrote it down. _No matter what happens, a true Shinobi must never…ever show their emotions! Th-the mission is the only priority. Carry that in your heart and never...never shed a tear._" I'm crying uncontrollably now and I put my head on Sasuke's chest. "Sasuke!"

*Karin's POV*

Am I, still alive? After all that, am I still alive? That's Sakura's voice. What happened? Is she crying? I open my eyes and look over. Sasuke! When I was gone that kid must have…!

"Sakura, he's not…?" She looks up.

"You're alive!" I nod and pull the needles out of my neck. I won't be able to heal him, but if it's not too late, I can pull the needles out and hopefully the vital spots that would kill weren't pierced.

I get up carefully and stumble to Sasuke's side. It's a good thing I've trained my body to tolerate pain on the battle field, but once I run out of chakra to keep this technique up, this will probably hurt like hell. If there's even the slightest chance that I can save him, I'll take it. I start with the needles in his neck.

"Will you be able to…?"

"I don't know. We'll just have to see." She's crying on top of him. If he wakes up, that's going to hurt.

*Sasuke's POV*

Is that…Sakura? No, unless I'm not dead. Maybe it wasn't my time after all. I open my eyes and the first thing I notice is that Sakura is on top of me, crying.

"Sakura…your arm's heavy." She looks at me, and then I notice Karin. There's a slight tug on my leg and a sudden sharp pain, like getting hit with those needles again. Karin looks up and smiles, she's still covered in needles. Sakura hugs me.

"Sasuke!"

"Sakura! You're probably hurting him!"

"Sakura, you _are_ hurting me."

"Oh, sorry." She backs up and I start to get up.

"Sasuke! Don't try to move! I haven't gotten all of those needles out and you could get seriously hurt!"

"I'm alright. How's Naruto? And…that little creep with the mask…what happened to him."

"Naruto's fine! And the boy in the mask is dead." That's a surprise.

"Dead?"

"Did Naruto?"

"No, I'm not sure. I couldn't see very well…but the boy died trying to protect Zabuza. I...was afraid…I thought…! You're both amazing! You survived a deathblow!"

"No."

"Not us…him. He never intended…"

"Naruto!! It's Sasuke and Karin! They're alright!" I finally manage to stand up and lift my hand when Naruto turns. Karin manages to get up as well and smiles at Naruto. I haven't seen her smile at anyone but me since that day…has she finally gotten over her thing against friendship? We lean on each other and manage to stay upright.

There's a group of people in front of our group and they seem pretty pissed. The villagers come up behind us to defend their home. It's about time they got some courage. Naruto and Kakashi use doppelgangers to scare off the attackers and it starts snowing. It's almost summer, that's strange. "Ow!" Karin pulled a needle out of my arm.

"That hurt!" She grins evilly and pulls another needle out. Oh, if I could move properly, she would have to run for her sanity. She's taking advantage of this, my lack of mobility.


	14. Heading Home

**Emotional Silence 13- Heading Home**

*Karin's POV*

"Let's go! We need to get Karin and Sasuke fixed up!" Aw man, I was enjoying torturing Sasuke. Serves him right for worrying me like that! I know I'm in for hell once he can move around better. This should be fun.

"Right! It'll be a couple of weeks before we can get this bridge fixed and finished!" The villagers turn around and start walking. Except for a few men who pick up Zabuza and Haku's corpses and carry them off to be buried. Our team starts walking as well. Naruto and Sakura help me and Sasuke walk to Tazuna's house. We get there and sit down. I pull a needle out of my arm and wince. That really smarts!

"I can't believe that you two survived that. What happened in there?"

"That kid Haku went after Naruto, Sasuke stepped in the way and then I got in the way and took the attack."

"He went after Naruto again and I took that attack."

"Simple as that."

"Why?"

"None of your business." I pull another needle out. This is going to be one long afternoon, and a painful one at that.

"What can I do to help?"

"Pull these needles out. Be careful and quick about it." I wince as Sakura pulls a needle out of my leg. On the bright side, these won't scar.

"Here, I brought bandages." Time for me to be the one taken care of, I guess. Tsunami pulls my hair up and wraps a bandage around my neck. These cuts are superficial and will heal quickly. When they finish fixing me up, I start helping Sasuke.

"You shouldn't move too much, Karin-san."

"One thing. No one touches my brother without my permission." They back up immediately and I start pulling the needles out of his arms.

"That was a bit much, Karin…" I shrug and start wrapping the bandage around his arm. I finish and we make our way upstairs to the rooms. I look at the door that leads to my bed. We don't usually separate when one of us is injured. I go into the room and pick up my bedroll. Then I go to the next room and set up a few feet away from Sasuke.

"We're eventually going to have to stay in separate rooms when we're hurt."

"I know that. But I think we both know that that time is not now." He laughs and we lay down.

*Two weeks later*

"By the way, Karin. Because of the skills you demonstrated on this mission, I'm going to put it in my report that, in my opinion, you should be promoted."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Watch me." I fume and glare at Kakashi. If I get a promotion, I won't be able to protect Sasuke…I won't allow that to happen! Not until he gets promoted!

"You shouldn't let me drag you down, Nee-chan." I look at Sasuke and sigh.

"I'm not." We head for the bridge and say goodbye to the villagers.

"Thank you." We nod and cross the bridge. We'll get home and then we can get back to our lives. We probably need to dust and replenish the cabinets. Who knows what things have gone bad in the fridge? Or the cabinets even! We'll have to deep clean the moment we get home so we have time for other things.


	15. Promoted and the Chunin Exam

**Emotional Silence 14- Promoted and the Chunin Exam**

"What's the mission for today, tardy-butt?"

"You, Karin, have an appointment with the Hokage, while we are on our mission today." Great that means that stupid promotion is on the horizon. I nod and walk to the office.

"Good morning, Uchiha-san."

"Good morning, Hokage-sama." I'm not the only one here…that's strange. There are several people that I don't recognize, but I _do_ recognize the head of the Hyuuga family.

"Now that you all are present, I would like to ask a question. The Chunin exams are scheduled for July first. All of you have at least one family member that is qualified, on paper, for the exam. Do you agree?" What is he yammering about? The Chunin exams, I shouldn't be here, I should be preparing for that!

"That's up to their captains."

"Hokage-sama, why is a Genin here?"

"Because, she has the qualifications to be considered a Jounin and is therefore not able to apply for the exam. And also seeing as the cell she is part of consists of five people total, it would be impossible for her to apply to a test that is designed around three man teams, not four." Way to lay on the encouragement, Hokage-sama.

"Uchiha-san."

"Whether my brother is qualified for the Chunin exam is up to our instructor, not me." I walk out of the office and start for home. July first, that's a week from today. I bump into somebody and look up. "Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going." I immediately recognize the boy. Neji! He smiles, wow. He's gotten cute! What am I thinking? I've never looked at a guy and thought that! It's always girls that I develop crushes on!

"It's okay, Uchiha-san."

"You know her, Neji?" He looks back and nods at the boy. The guy has a bowl haircut, thick eyebrows, and teeth that reflect the sun. He's wearing a green jumpsuit with orange legwarmers and a red Hitai-ate. "I'm Rock Lee!"

"Um, Uchiha Karin desu." I back up and stare at him. He's weird and creeping me out…

*Neji's POV*

Karin's gotten really pretty. Too bad she likes girls. I wonder what's wrong with her. She's staring at Lee; maybe he's freaking her out.

"Um, I've got some stuff to do, I just remembered. I'll see you around Hyuuga." She turns and runs off, her face an odd shade of pink.

"Someone likes you." Tenten walks up behind me.

"No, she prefers girls."

"How do you know that?"

"We're neighbors; it's just something that I noticed."

"Maybe her preferences have changed."

"I don't think so…" Maybe she was just embarrassed by the fact that I was staring at her. I haven't talked to her in so long, not since that one day when her brother was injured. She's changed a lot since then, in appearances.

We used to be friends, until then. I think something happened that day that made her not trust anyone anymore. She spent a week locked in the house taking care of him and then she ignored me when I said hi when I would see her walking around town or at school during lunch. So I just ignored her back. Her voice hasn't changed much, that's why I recognized her before I realized who bumped into me. I wonder if her team is going to attempt the Chunin exam, I'm sure she's graduated by now.

"Neji, are you coming?"

"Quit spacing on us and come on!" I nod and walk the rest of the way to the training grounds with them.

*Karin's POV*

What is wrong with me? Why am I blushing like this? Has it really been that long since we talked that I'm nervous? His uncle was there, I wonder if the Hokage was thinking about Neji when he said at least one family member…I know that Hinata-san has gone on just as many missions with her team as we have. I guess there's no way to find out.

I'm the fifth wheel and won't be able to take the Chunin exam with my brother. Unless Sakura decides not to take the exam. But the Hokage said that because I'm qualified to be considered a Jounin, I'm over qualified to even apply for the exam. Figures. I go the long way home and sit in my room.

_Do_ I like Neji? I mean, he's gotten really cute...but what member of the Hyuuga clan isn't naturally gorgeous? I mean, Hinata-san is really cute. And those eyes, it's enough to make someone melt just by making eye contact.

"Oh my god! I _do_ like him!" That's weird! I've always liked girls, and he knows that. And that girl on his team is really hot. I'm sure they like each other. But he seemed upset when he said that I like girls. But there's no way a girl that cute could _not_ be straight. There _has_ to be a thing between them. There's no way that she's with the other guy. He was just plain weird.

*Six days later*

"Oh my gosh!"

"Do they always wake up this dramatic?"

"Looks like it." Kakashi appears we've been waiting for almost two hours for him to get here after he called us out to meet at nine. I could hurt him for his lame excuses and constant tardiness!

"Morning guys! Today, I wandered from the path of life…"

"You are such a liar! Would it kill you to at least pretend to be sorry?"

"In any case, this may surprise you, but I've recommended you for the Chunin selection exams." Here it comes. He's going to hand three of us the application and one of them will ask why I'm not getting an application also.

"You're kidding right?"

"You have to fill out applications." He hands them each a piece of paper.

"Where's Karin's application?"

"I'm not getting one. I'm overqualified to apply for the exam."

"Speaking of that, I did bring you something, Karin." He hands me a scroll labeled _fire_. I open it and read the first part of the scroll aloud.

"_Congratulations, from this day forward, according to the word of the Third Hokage, Uchiha Karin is hereby of a Jounin rank._" That's just wrong. "See, told you I was stinking overqualified."

"The exam is optional. If you want to apply, turn those in at room 301 in the school by four o'clock tomorrow afternoon." Kakashi disappears.

"You seem mad about something, Karin-san…" I look at them.

"You'd be mad too if you were suddenly given a promotion that you didn't want. I'm going home." I walk off, but instead of turning towards home, I go to the training grounds. I stop when I hear voices.

"Hey! Hey! Did you hear? The Chunin exams start tomorrow. Word is they'll be letting members of the rookie class compete for the first time in five years!" I know that voice! It's the weird guy in the green jumpsuit from Neji's team! That means…I look around the tree and cover my mouth. They're here. And Neji is sitting directly under a target with that girl throwing weapons at it!

"No way! It probably has something to do with the rivalry among the Jounin elite." The girl tosses a kunai up and down in her hand.

"I doubt that. They say that three of them are in the cell trained by Kakashi."

"_The_ Kakashi? That's interesting." Neji looks up just as the girl gets ready to throw the kunai.

"Well, either way…" She throws the kunai and hits the target dead on. "It all has a very sad sound to it."

"You can come out, we don't bite." Great, they noticed me. I sigh and step into the clearing. "Are you following me, Uchiha-san?"

"No." Neji stands up and walks over to me.

"Then are you talking to me again?"

"Maybe." The girl looks at me.

"So you're an _Uchiha_? What rank are you?" I sigh.

"As of today, Jounin."

"No way! You look younger than us!" My eye twitches. That guy really creeps me out and I don't know why.

"If you're the same age as Hyuuga, then I'm about a year younger than you."

"Then how are you a Jounin?"

"I got the stupid promotion. That's how!" I turn around and start to walk off. Neji grabs my hand and stops me. I look over my shoulder at him. He lets go of my hand and looks away.

"Sorry." I shrug.

"It's okay. See you around." I move away and stare at my hands. What is wrong with me? I can't believe I left blushing again!


	16. Odd Things That Bug Me

**Emotional Silence 15- Odd Things That Bug Me**

"I'm heading for the school, Nee-chan."

"Good luck." I hope that Sakura decides to take the exam since it's only taken in groups of three. Sasuke nods and leaves the house. I step outside and sweep the porch. I can't believe this. I'm stuck here without knowing if Sasuke's safe or not.

"Hey, Karin-san. Has Sasuke already left?"

"Oh, hey Sakura. Yea, you just missed him." She frowns.

"You seem down about something."

"Is it that obvious?" She nods.

"You're not going to talk about it; you know, girl to girl, are you?" I shake my head.

"No. Good luck on the exam. I know you'll do great! You are, after all, one of the best." She smiles and leaves. I'm getting too close to them. The only person that I need to trust is my brother.

Sasuke and I have no secrets between us. I just haven't mentioned this new development. Mostly because I have a feeling it's just some weird phase that I'm going through along with puberty. I look down. I wonder what Neji was thinking when he saw me, all those times when I ignored him after that day. We were really good friends until Deidara came around.

I'd bet that if he ran into Deidara, he'd recognize him. I'm sure that Neji's smart enough to realize that the thing that made me change had something to do with Deidara. Why can't I get him off my mind? I don't like boys, why would I be thinking about this one boy so much? It doesn't make sense!

I sigh and put the broom away. I walk to my room and pull out my sketch book. When I stop drawing, I look down and see a sketch of Neji. I've never drawn anything but scenes from the past. That's what usually occupies my thoughts when I'm doodling. Do I have Neji in my thought that strongly today?

It's actually been all week, since I ran into him. He'll be fourteen in two days. That means that he'll be taking the exam on his birthday. It's a three part test. The first part only takes an hour, a written exam, the second is five days, and then depending on how many make it to the third stage, there could be a preliminary match that could take anywhere from one to four days. Then they get thirty days to prepare for the final matches.

That means I'll be worried sick about Sasuke for at least six days. Fun. I wonder if Neji and his team are taking the exam. I think it's been a year since they graduated…that would be about right, considering they're a year older than I am. I can't get him off my mind. I need a distraction. Something to do that will occupy my mind and my hands.

This is bugging me; I can't get a _boy_ off my mind. And I can't figure out why. I remember reading a romance once, the girl figured out she was in love with the guy when she realized that she couldn't get him off her mind. That's impossible.

Room 301. That's on the third floor of the school and the windows are high on the wall with enough of a ledge outside that I can sit there and watch the exam. I've got nothing better to do. I walk out of the house and go to the school. It's almost four, which means that almost all of the applicants should be in the room by now.

I stop before climbing the building. Something's going on here. I look around a pillar. That's the jumpsuit guy! What the hell? I look at the end of the trail of dust and almost laugh. He must have said something to piss Naruto off and then beat the crap out of him. This guy must be a pretty good fighter. Especially since he appears to be challenging Sasuke.

There's only half an hour until they need to be in that room. "Mark my words. None of you will beat me. I am the greatest fighter among all the junior ninja in Konoha."

"This could be fun. I accept your challenge."

"Don't do it Sasuke! We have less than half an hour to submit our applications!"

"This will only take five minutes." He rushes in.

"Sasuke!" The guy in the jumpsuit moves quickly. I activate sharingan. Maybe I can see what kind of person is on the same team with Neji…no! I want to figure out if he's going to be able to beat Sasuke. This guy doesn't appear to have any chakra control whatsoever. He's using pure Leaf Style Taijutsu.

"Konoha Hurricane!" He's too fast! Sasuke won't be able to block that move or even dodge it! I was right. Even though it looks like Sasuke managed to block that attack, he still got nailed and sent flying. The only way he'll be able to discern this guys movements is if he uses sharingan, but even then it looks like my brother isn't fast enough to keep up with this guy.

I wince as the kid lands a hard kick under Sasuke's jaw, knocking him into the air. This speed, I could probably keep up with him, but this is incredible! If this is what kind of training they receive under their teacher, it's no wonder Neji was able to sit under that target without worrying about getting hit when that girl was doing target practice. I wonder who their sensei is.

This isn't good; he's flying under Sasuke, with the wrappings on his arms slightly undone. Did this kid master the reversal? That's impossible! _I_ couldn't even manage to master that with a year of training! Something flies through the air and pins one of the wrappings to the wall! Who is that? I stare at the thing that was thrown…a pinwheel…is this guy an idiot? A turtle appears.

"Halt! Lee that's enough!" The guy in the jumpsuit flips to the ground.

"Sasuke!" Sakura runs forward to catch Sasuke. If she does that, they'll both get hurt! I run out and jump into the air, catching Sasuke and skidding across the floor.

"Where'd you come from?"

"Over there, behind the pillar. I was watching the whole thing." That turtle. Something's up with him. I've seen that form of summoning before but I've never seen a ninja animal scold a student.

"I hope you're properly prepared."

"Y-yes sir."

"Well…then…he's all yours, Master Gai." Gai! As in Maito Gai? No wonder, he's a touchy, feely, Taijutsu based fighter with a hardcore sense of the importance of youth! He appears in a very strange, and kinda creepy, pose on top of the turtle. My jaw drops. The bowl haircut, giant caterpillar-like eyebrows, shiny teeth, the green jumpsuit, orange legwarmers, and the red Hitai-ate! He looks like an older version of the other guy!

"That's just creepy."

"Lee."

"Sir?"

"You idiot!" Gai punches Lee Square in the face. What the hell? Sasuke and I exchange a weirded out look. I can't believe this guy. Suddenly they're both crying and they hug.

"And I thought _I_ was gay…"

"I think you've met your match on the homo scale, Nee-chan." I hit the back of his head and we walk over to the others.

"By the way, how's Kakashi doing? I'm asking you!"

"You know him?" He disappears and comes up behind us.

"I should say so. We're arch-rivals!" This guy is really creeping me out, worse than the little one. "The score stands at fifty to forty-nine. I'm stronger than he is." I roll my eyes and start to walk off.

"I'll see you guys when you get back. Good luck."

"Karin-san, where are you going?"

"I don't know, home probably. There's nothing for me to do."

"You're the girl who just got promoted right?" I look back.

"That depends on who you think I am."

"Uchiha Karin." I sigh.

"Dang, word travels fast in this stupid place. Who cares? I'm going home." I turn and leave. Once I get out of sight, I start to scale the wall to the third floor. Where's room 301. I look in the rooms and stop. Right here.

There are a bunch of foreigners here! There are so many of them! I recognize only two of the Hitai-ate symbols. Amegakure and Sunagakure. There are probably some from the village of grass and that new village, Otogakure. There's one girl that I notice, blond with her hair in four ponytails at the back of her head. She's really cute. From Sunagakure it looks like, by her clothes.

Wow! There are a lot of really cute girls in here! The door opens and my team walks in. Ino attacks Sasuke. That pig, no boundaries whatsoever! And the other passing team is in here too, Hinata-san, Inuzuka, and Aburame. I wonder if they're asking about me. Yep. Sasuke points at the window and they wave at me. I wave back and glare at Sasuke. He shrugs.

That's it. I may not be able to apply, but I can go into that room and talk to them. I pull out my new id card. It clearly states my name and rank. Stupid pointless annoying thing. I jump down and run up to the room.

"Sorry. Oh hello again, Uchiha-san." I stop and stare. Why do I keep running into him? It's bad enough I can't get him off my mind, but I've got to run into him at every turn too?!

"Um, hello, Hyuuga."

"Is something wrong?" I shake my head.

"No…not really." The girl behind him smiles at me, she's really pretty.

"I'm Tenten, nice to meet you."

"Um, nice to meet you too."

"Um, Uchiha-san, have you seen Lee anywhere?"

"He was downstairs when I saw him, but I left before anyone else did."

"What was he doing downstairs?" I stifle a laugh.

"Kicking Sasuke's butt."

"Figures he'd do something stupid like that…what?"

"He kicked Sasuke's butt. It was kinda funny. Never thought I'd see someone move that fast below a Chunin level."

"Speaking of which, how come you're not applying?" I pull out my id card.

"That's why. I wasn't kidding yesterday when I said I got the stupid promotion. Oh, since I probably won't see you Hyuuga, happy birthday."

"Um, thanks." I wave and run down the hall. I wasted time, now I don't have time to talk to them; I want to see that group close up. I stop when I hear footsteps behind me. "Uchiha-san! Wait up." I turn around.

"What?"

"Since you're…you know talking now…does that mean that we're friends again?" I look away.

"I'm not sure. I've sort of…given up on trust."

"Why?"

"You remember that day."

"Yea, but you never told me what happened."

"You remember my friend Deidara?" He nods.

"Yea. He seemed like a jerk."

"Well, I went shopping that morning and when I got home, he was about to kill Sasuke."

"Oh. No wonder you said you gave up on trust. But…you know I wouldn't do anything like that." I shrug.

"It's just, hard for me to get past what happened and trust anyone again. I'm sorry. Um, good luck in the exams. You'll need it." I turn and run off.

"Uchiha-san!" I shake my head and run home, telling myself that he'll be fine. Who though? Neji or Sasuke? Am I worried about Neji too? I can't stand this.


	17. Proctor!

**Emotional Silence 16- Proctor?!**

"Good I caught you before you got too far away from the school."

"Who are you?"

"Morino Ibiki. I'm the head proctor for the first part of the Chunin selection exam." I sigh.

"And what do you want with me?"

"I've heard about your skill in deducing illusions. And we're short one proctor for this exam."

"Meaning?"

"All Jounin without a team to lead are subject to proctor the exam. I just got the order." He hands me a clipboard.

"So you want me to do what?"

"Watch the applicants and write down when you see them improperly gathering information."

"An information gathering test? You mean you're testing the skills of stealth in learning?" He nods. "Fine."

"I also understand that the team you work with is taking the exam, your twin brother included in those three."

"I'm not going to go easy on them. But they'll probably pass anyway."

"We'll just have to see. I'll be keeping an eye on you."

"I'm sure you will." He disappears. "It's four o'clock; you should get back up there." I sigh and transport myself to the front of the classroom, with the other proctors. At least I won't be sitting at home worrying all afternoon.

*Sakura's POV*

What the…? All those people just appeared at the front of the room!

"Sorry to have kept you waiting. My name is Morino Ibiki. I am the proctor and chief examiner for the first part of the exam." He points at the three Otogakure ninja. "You from the Sound village! You can't carry on any way you please when the exam is about to start! Or do you want to be disqualified?"

"Sorry…sir it's our first exam and we got a little carried away."

"Is that so? Then it's high time someone laid down a few ground rules. From this point forward, there will be no more fighting without the express permission of the examining officer. And even if that permission is granted, anything that endangers another applicant's life is strictly forbidden. Any of you little piglets who break that rule are out. Disqualified. No second chances. Got that?"

"So this is a test for little girly men?" This is scary.

"As you wish. The first part of the selection exam is about to commence. Turn in your written applications, take one of these seating assignment cards, and report directly to the seat indicated. When everyone's seated, we'll pass out the written part of the test." Oh great a paper test. Naruto's in trouble.

"A paper test?!" Wait a minute; one of those proctors is really short. I think it's a girl, with really long black hair. I can't see her face, but I can tell what she's wearing. A black vest with a net shirt underneath, a bandage around her left wrist and a Hitai-ate around her right. She turns so I can see her face. Karin!

"Oh my gosh."

"What?"

"Look, that really short person at the very front of the room." Sasuke and Naruto look over at her and Sasuke almost laughs.

"She's proctoring. So much for not having anything to do today."

"Why would they let her proctor? Wouldn't they be worried she'd make sure we pass?"

"No." I stare at Sasuke.

"Why not?"

"Because, she'll be ignoring us. Most likely, she'll be watching the others, so she can't be blamed if we pass or fail."

*Karin's POV*

Looks like they noticed me. Everyone in the room sits down, including the other proctors. First things first, locate the decoys and note that mentally. A smart person will be able to figure them out easily. Certain applicants change certain things.

Lee puts his Hitai-ate over his forehead, a reflection? I look up with just my eyes. Fish wire is attached to a set of mirrors and strung down to Tenten's hand. She adjusts them so she and Lee can easily see Neji's test. With the Byakugan, he'll be able to easily copy the decoy's test and give his teammates the answers. Clever.

Sasuke is in perfect view of the decoy, so he'll be able to use sharingan to copy his test. Sakura is smart enough that she can manage the test easily. Let's see…Hinata is smart enough to answer the questions easily enough to keep a few points. And she's sitting next to Naruto. But Aburame can use bugs to gather information and then give it to Hinata. Akamaru is sitting on top of Inuzuka's head, and he's the only one that can understand the dog.

Nara is a genius so he won't have to worry. And Ino has that mind technique, she'll probably watch for Sakura to finish the test, possess her, memorize the answers, and then possess Chouji to give him the answers. The four teams of rookies that I know won't get caught. That's a clever trick with the mirrors. I'll have to keep an eye on the other teams.

The test starts and I start watching. I mark down every time someone is obviously trying to be sneaky and cheating. The idea is to gather information with stealth and finesse. Five strikes and the person fails.

Ten minutes in, one of the other proctors throws a kunai at someone's test. I guess I missed a couple of times when that person cheated. Several other students continue their tests as that team is dragged out of the room. One person on my list gets to five strikes.

"On your feet, number 102. You fail."

"You too, number 23. You're out." Slowly we weed out the slackers.

"47."

"Excuse me."

"What is it?"

"I have to go to the bathroom." The extra proctor gets up and escorts the guy to the bathroom. He must be a puppeteer. And that extra proctor was his puppet. Clever.

*Sasuke's POV*

I've been writing nonstop. I was going to copy a few others, just to be on the safe side, but it looks like I got the decoy on the first try. I've heard Nee-chan call out at least two teams that failed. And one person almost got the crap beat out of him by a proctor. This is interesting.

The guy stops writing and I look down. Looks like I just have to wait for the tenth question then. I glance sideways at Nee-chan. She's watching everyone but the four teams that she's familiar with. Us, and the other two teams that we graduated with, and dog-brow's team. That means she already figured out what they're doing and that those will be the teams to pass. I just hope Naruto doesn't ruin the whole thing and fail. I'd have to hurt him if he slowed me down. It's been forty-five minutes; they'll be giving the last question about now.

"Time for the tenth question!" Here we go. Naruto had better not fail. I'm pretty confident I can get this right. "And before we get to the question itself, I'm adding one more new rule."

The door opens, must be that guy that went to the bathroom, the one on the team with the spook from the sand. "You're in luck. Your time playing with dolls hasn't been completely wasted. Don't worry about it. Let me explain, this rule is absolute." Oh great, what is he talking about? By the way he's wording things; he's probably a master at interrogation and torture. "First, you must choose whether to accept or reject this tenth question." Accept or refuse? Is this the question? This is the torture part, I can feel it.

"Choose? What happens if someone doesn't accept the question?!" The girl from the spook's team.

"If you reject the question, and don't try to even answer it, you'll lose all your points immediately and fail! And both your teammates will fail right along with you." This is definitely the torture part, in a moment; he'll probably come up with something worse than that, a consequence for getting the question wrong.

"Say what? Then why would anyone choose to reject it?!"

"Because of the other rule." I was right. "If you try to answer the question and you get it wrong, you will never be permitted to apply for the Chunin Exams again. Not ever." There it is the torture part. Probably about half the room will choose to reject the question, simply so they can get another chance next time. There isn't a question, this is a challenge. If you reject it, you're basically quitting and can't hope to pass next time, if you accept it then you pass and move on to the next part of the exam.

I'll bet I'm probably the only one that's figured this out. "Now, anyone who wishes to reject the question, raise your hand and once your number is confirmed, you and your teammates can leave." People start raising their hands and numbers are called. I'm surprised Naruto isn't giving up, he's such a dunce, he wouldn't stand a chance at getting any questions right, his test is probably blank.

I look over at Sakura, she's about to raise her hand, which means she hasn't figured this out. That's surprising, she's usually so smart about things like this, she should have seen through it at the same time I did. Naruto raises his hand suddenly. Figures.

"Never underestimate me! I don't quit and I won't run! I'll accept your stupid question! Even if I risk ending up a rookie for the rest of my life I'll still become Hokage, even if I can only make it by pure stubbornness, I don't care!! I'm not afraid of you!" Well, no one else is going to fail today, not after that speech. Figures though, he didn't even think about us. Stupid, gutsy, idiot.

"I'll ask you one last time. This is a decision that could affect the rest of your life. Quit now, while you have the chance."

"I never go back on my word! That's my ninja way!" Figures. Now all we have to do is wait for further instructions. I catch a smile from the corner of my eye, Nee-chan.

'_You figured it out already?'_ She mouths the words and I nod slightly. She nods back and looks at something else. She seems really distracted for some reason. I wonder what she isn't telling me. If she's not telling me something, that just means she isn't ready to talk about it.

I try to follow her gaze, but she's looking up, behind me in a different section of the room, so I can't see who she's looking at without making it obvious. Suddenly, she blushes and looks toward the front of the room, shifting her gaze every few seconds. It's interesting, every time she looks back, her blush deepens. Is there someone back there that she likes? No, I don't think that's it. She looks a bit pissed at herself.

A window crashes and a figure spins into the room. A banner raises and a girl stands at the front of the room. My eye twitches. What the hell is wrong with this woman?


	18. Second Test

**Emotional Silence 17- Second Test**

"None of you are in any position to celebrate! I am the second chief examination officer, Mitarashi Anko! Time's a-wasting' people! Let's go! Follow me!" Can she not sense the atmosphere?

She's acting a bit like Naruto. That's kind of scary that there's someone else out there that is that obnoxious. "Seventy-eight of you are still here? Ibiki you passed twenty-six teams? Obviously you went way too easy on them!"

"This year, we have students of exceptional caliber."

"Yea right. I'll cut down the number by half before the next test is done!" Cut us down by half? How does she plan to do that? "Oh, I get charged up just thinking about it! I'll explain things in detail as soon as we move to our next location…so, follow me!" She walks out of the room and all of the others follow her.

We get to a fenced in forest with signs posted all over…_No Trespassing_?! That's a bit worrying. "This is the arena for the second exam, training ground 44, also known as the forest of death!"

"Hey guys!"

"Karin-san!" Did she follow us here?

"Good luck in there. It's pretty dangerous."

"How would you know that?" She looks over at the guy who spoke.

"I just know these things. You're from Suna right?" He nods; it's the guy on the Spook, Gaara's team.

"Yea, what's it to you?"

"You work with puppets right?"

"Maybe." Karin nods, satisfied.

"Are you still proctoring today?" She nods.

"Yea, I'm supposed to hand out scrolls. Anko-san is about to explain. I should get going. Good luck!" She waves and runs off.

"Strange girl. I wonder how old she is."

"She'll be 13 on the twenty-third."

"How do you know that?" I look at them.

"Because she's my sister." The one guy, who obviously thought she was cute, backs up, slightly worried by my glare.

"She must be pretty good if she's already passed this." I ignore them.

*Karin's POV*

I run to gate 41 and get behind the curtain with the other proctor. Teams start going through and we hand them a scroll, varying between the two varieties.

"I didn't realize you were a proctor, Uchiha-san." Tell me I'm hearing things. I look up and frown.

"Now who's following who?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Neji smiles at me, I force myself to keep eye contact and not blush. The other proctor clears his throat and hands Tenten a scroll.

"Move along and wait for the signal." They leave the stall, but Neji is watching me the entire time.

"Uchiha, don't get distracted."

"I'm not distracted." The last of the teams go through and we start straightening up the stall.

"It's almost time." I nod and grab the key. I walk to the gate and unlock the chains. A gong sounds and I open the gate.

"Good luck!" All of the teams at this gate run past, Neji and his team last. They walk calmly in and Neji stops beside me. "You need to go." He smiles and leans down to kiss my cheek. I can't move. He runs after his teammates and I touch my cheek. That was unexpected. The other proctor closes and locks the gate.

"Looks like someone has an admirer." I snap out of it and hit him.

"Shut up!"

"You like him too! That's funny." I roll my eyes and walk off. "Where are you going?"

"Unless I have to do anything else here, I'm going home." He nods and I keep walking. I know that I'm blushing furiously. Why did Neji have to do that? He knows that I don't like boys!

*Neji's POV*

"What was that about?"

"Nothing."

"It didn't look like nothing. You freaking kissed her!" Tenten seems jealous. I wonder why.

"Come on Tenten-san, it's obvious why he kissed her."

"Say another word, Lee, and you'll wish you hadn't." She didn't react like I expected her to. The Karin that I grew up with would have slapped me for being so forward. Is it possible that she did change her preferences?

No, I don't see that as an option. She must have simply been shocked by the gesture. There's no other reason for it. I thought I noticed her at the first exam, calling out numbers of people that failed. And after, she kept looking at me, or so I thought. She kept blushing, so there must have been a girl somewhere near me that she was looking at.

"Hey, Neji, get your head out of the clouds! You're falling behind." I nod and catch up to them. This is bad, I've been thinking about her nonstop for the past week, since she ran into me that one day. And then we keep running into each other. It can't just be a coincidence.

What are the chances that my team would go to the exact gate that she's handing out scrolls at? And as far as I could tell, there weren't any girls in my immediate area in that classroom; it was obvious that she was looking in that area. After all this time, maybe fate has brought us together for some strange reason.


	19. Team Transfer

**Emotional Silence 18- Team Transfer**

*Karin's POV, FF to after the exams.*

"What do you mean, transfer?"

"I mean, because we are able to spare a member of this team, and this other team is short one member."

"What team are you talking about?"

"Maito Gai's team." I back up.

"Oh no. Not them!"

"What's wrong with that?" I look away from Kakashi and hope that I can control this blushing. "You don't get along with the members of that cell?"

"It's not that…" He laughs.

"You like one of them!"

"NO I DON'T!"

"Oh my god, you do! Which one is it?"

"Neither of them."

"You're to report to the Training Grounds at noon." I look at my watch. That's in two hours. When I look up, Kakashi's gone. Why me? I've been avoiding Neji since the exams, which is really hard to do considering we keep running into each other and he lives right next door to me. But I guess orders are orders.

I knew I would get separated from Sasuke eventually. I just didn't realize it would be this soon. And after that attack on the village, who knows what will happen? I start walking towards the Training Grounds. I get there, all too soon and stop. I can do this.

Maybe I misinterpreted the intentions of that kiss. Maybe he was just…thanking me for being friends with him again. Maybe he doesn't like me; maybe I have nothing to worry about. Someone taps on my shoulder.

"Finally." I turn around and back up.

"H-Hyuuga…hi."

"Why have you been avoiding me?"

"I…h-haven't been…a-a-v-void…avoiding you…"

"Then why are you looking for a way to get away?"

"I'm not!" Every time I step back, he steps forward, pushing me against a tree. I try not to look around, but I can't help it. I'm suddenly very nervous and I kind of want to get away from here.

"I thought we were going to try to be friends again."

"Hyuuga, I told you already…I…I just can't trust anyone anymore."

"Anyone except your brother right?" I nod.

"I'm surprised you didn't slap me." What?

"Why would I have slapped you?"

"I half expected you to slap me, you know…when I kissed you…but you didn't. I was wondering why." Oh…I have to come up with something. Let's see, I was stunned. That's right, I couldn't move because I was stunned.

"I was shocked." He nods. That must have been what he thought my reason was. A bush rustles and he looks over. Just a bird. Is he worried about being seen here…alone with me?

"I have another question."

"What?" He blushes slightly, that surprises me. Why would he be blushing?

"If…I kissed you…again…what would you do?" What kind of question is that?

"I…don't know…" I can't get away. He leans down and kisses me. Not on the cheek, like last time, on the lips. He's gentle, I think worried about my reaction. I all but melt. Suddenly, one of my hands goes around the back of his neck and pulls him closer to me. That's strange. He grabs my wrist and pulls my hand out of his hair, gasping for air. That was interesting.

"Well…that was unexpected…" We look at each other for a moment, then look away, blushing furiously. "Sorry." I look at him.

"I…should be the one to apologize. I don't know what came over me."

"Does…this mean…you like guys now?" No, just him. But I can't say that! So much for not trusting anyone! No, it's different with Neji. We were friends before either of us lost our parents.

"No…I don't."

"Just me then?" I look away.

"I…don't know." He puts his hands on my shoulders and I look at him. He searches my face for an expression that would give me away. He must see something in my eyes, because he smiles.

"I think you do." I look away; I can't meet his eyes worth crap right now. He puts a hand under my chin and gently pulls my head so I'm forced to look him in the eye. He smiles again. What is this feeling? I feel like I'm touching the sun. My chin burns, where his hand is, and it feels like his hand should be burning a hole in my shirt. He gets closer to me and it feels like there's a flat version of the sun between us.

He lifts my face slightly and kisses me again. I lift my hands and rest them against his chest, ready to push him away, but I can't control my arms to push. Instead, my hands move up and rest on his shoulders. In a moment, one hand is twined in his hair again and the other is squeezing his shoulder. The hand that was on my shoulder moves, and I'm suddenly afraid that he's going to pull away again.

His hand wraps itself in my hair and the kiss becomes passionate. My head is spinning and I can't breathe, but I don't care. His tongue runs softly across my lips and I open my mouth slightly. This is impossible…what is wrong with me?!

"OH MY GOD!" Neji backs up and we both look at the person who yelled. Sakura. Crap! She has a stunned look on her face.

"Sakura! What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you. Kakashi-sensei said that you would be in this area."

"You _won't_ say anything, to _anyone_!"

"Of course not!" That means that within twenty-four hours, this will be all over the village.

"You had better not. So help me Sakura if this gets around…"

"No worries! My lips are sealed! Just one question. Didn't you say you're a lesbian?" My eye twitches.

"So what?" She covers her mouth.

"Um, if you like girls, why are you making out with a guy?" The way she worded that…I blush ten shades of red and glare at her. "Just a question! You don't have to kill me!" She backs up a little, suddenly quite terrified of me. It must be the look on my face.

"Sakura, making out implies that there is an amount of undressing done. There's a difference between a kiss and making out." She blushes and runs off. "She's gonna tell everyone she knows."

"Have you talked to Sasuke about this?" I stare at him.

"No! He was training nonstop for the exams and I wasn't ready to talk to him about this yet…"

"Maybe you should find him before Sakura spreads the word." I nod.

"He'll be one of the first people that she tells too."

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"No! We sort of have this thing…if I tell him that we kissed…he'll be pissed."

"Why am I suddenly scared?" I sigh.

"Don't be. Depending on how I word it, he'll only be mad at me for not telling him before now."

"What _thing_ do you two have?"

"Oh…that…well…we agreed, a while back…that well…no one touches one of us, without the permission of the other."

"But, you and I, we always hugged before…"

"That was before Deidara…it was after that…that we agreed on that."

"You're very protective of each other, aren't you?" I nod.

"I have to go. Hopefully I'll be back by noon."

"Why noon?"

"You'll see!" I get on my tip toes and kiss him on the cheek before running home. Our team had the day off today, and it's his turn to clean the bathrooms…so he should be home. "Sasuke! Are you here?"

"Yea, I'm in the bathroom, give me a second!" The toilet flushes and Sasuke runs through the house.

"Something wrong, Nee-chan?"

"I know that you've noticed…I've had something on my mind lately…"

"I knew it! Are you finally ready to talk to me about it?" I nod.

"It's pretty serious…so don't freak out."

"What?" I may as well just spit it out already.

"I think…I've fallen in love with someone."

"Who's the lucky girl?" I touch the back of my head.

"Well…that's the serious bit…it's not a girl."

"What?"

"Shoujo janai." I say the words slowly.

"I heard you the first time…who?"

"Well…"

"Tell me, Nee-chan." He looks pissed. He never gets like this when I tell him that I like someone. It's because it's a guy this time.

"Hyuuga Neji."

"What?" I nod. "Nee-chan? He…hasn't touched you…has he?"

"Sasuke!"

"He has, hasn't he?" I nod slightly. He fumes.

"I told you not to freak out!"

"We agreed, didn't we? After that happened…"

"Sasuke…I know that. But…well…it was quite involuntary…on both parts…"

"What are you talking about?"

"We…kissed." He starts for the door. "Sasuke! Don't you dare go and look for him!" I grab his wrist.

"Why shouldn't I?"

"Because…I'm the one that initiated it." He looks at me.

"What?"

"_I_ kissed _him_. Since the exams, I couldn't stop thinking about him…and well…I'm getting transferred today…and I ran into him…and well…it just happened."

"Wait, you…kissed _him_. You're not just saying that?" I nod.

"It's true." At least, I did kiss him back…no, I have to stay firm on this or Sasuke _will_ go out and hunt him down.

"I…would like to talk to him…when you get the chance." I nod.

"Right."

"You should have talked to me about this before…"

"I know."

"Where are you transferring?" Great…I have to tell him.

"Well, this one team is short one member, he was injured and is out of action for a while…since I'm an extra person on our team…I've been transferred to that team to replace the missing person."

"You're being careful not to mention names. What team is it?"

"Well…"

"_His_ team?" I nod.

"Lee was injured severely in the Chunin exams…they really need a third member on the team."

"But it's still _his_ team."

"Speaking of which, I'm expected there in a few minutes so…I'll see you later okay?" He looks really pissed… "Sasuke?"

"Oh, yea. See you later." I walk out of the house and run back to the Training Grounds. That took almost too long. Neji's still waiting for me.

"How did it go?"

"He's extremely pissed."

"About the fact that we kissed?"

"Well, he's pissed at me about that…I just hope that Sakura didn't see enough to contradict what I told him."

"What did you say?"

"I told him that I was the one that initiated it."

"Oh. What would he have done if you hadn't said that?"

"He was about to walk out of the house and hunt you down…"

"I knew I should have been scared."

"No!"

"You act like each other's parents sometimes." I nod.

"We have to look out for each other." He should understand that. His parents are dead and his uncle hates him. "He…wants to talk to you…later…" He nods and takes my hand.

"Then, I'll talk to him later." We walk to the place where we're supposed to meet up with Gai and Tenten.


	20. B Ranked Mission

**Emotional Silence 19- B-Ranked Mission**

"There you are!"

"We've been waiting for you!" I sigh and let go of Neji's hand.

"Hey."

"Anno, Uchiha-san, what are you doing here?" I look at them. They're a couple of regular idiots!

"I've been transferred to this team, to temporarily fill in the third place, for Lee, while he's recovering." With the training that that guy had before, he'll probably be able to defy the obvious and pull through and become a ninja again. I don't have to rub in the fact that all of the doctors and medical experts have said that he won't be able to recover enough to back into action.

"So you're…part of this team now?" Tenten is jealous; does she think that I'm really competition? Even though Neji clearly said that I prefer girls? Maybe it's because he and I were holding hands when we got here.

"Well, it's a good thing you're here then." I stare at Gai. This is going to be interesting. "We've got a B-rank mission."

"What?!"

"It's not that surprising, Tenten-san…" It really isn't. Even though no one actually passed the exam this time around, except Nara, everyone that made it to the final matches could easily be considered as a Chunin, if only in fighting skill. And considering the fights that I saw, particularly the first match, it's obvious that a B-ranked mission would come up eventually.

"So, what's the mission?"

"Locate four Sound ninja."

"The four that created the shield that kept the ANBU from assisting the Hokage in the attack?" Gai nods and hands me a folder. I open it up and examine the contents. "Photographs, for identification purposes I assume." He nods and I hand the folder back to him. I never forget a face.

"Why is this a B-rank?"

"Because, these four obviously work directly under Orochimaru. That would make it safe to assume that they are quite strong, and most likely they have been subject to his experiments. Orochimaru is notorious for his live human experiments."

"Exactly. Uchiha-san, how do you…?"

"Know so much? I'm a fast reader, there's a briefing page behind the photographs in that folder. I also have other reasons." They nod. I'm sure Neji knows part of the reasons. Itachi is in Akatsuki, the organization that Orochimaru used to be part of, and Deidara was a lower level member when I met him.

"Would you be willing to explain that?"

"You know what? I don't have to tell you."

"Why?" I smile.

"You wouldn't believe me, even if I did tell you. So I don't see the point in even making the effort. Anyways."

"Right, all we're supposed to do is locate them. There is reason to believe that there is a possibility that these four will return here and make trouble again." My hand almost goes straight to my neck, where that weird bruise on Sasuke's neck is, but I stop myself. That would be why they come back, to take Sasuke to Orochimaru.

"But there is a high risk to this, if it's been ranked as B." I'm the one to continue the explanation. Gai is such a slacker in this area. It must take them hours just to get the jest of a mission. "Obviously.

"There is a possibility that the experiments, if any, that were conducted on them, could have included certain sensory abilities that would enable them to sense pursuit before we find them, allowing them to strike us before we even know what the danger is. We have no information on them except for the minimal information compiled by the ANBU that were present that day."

"So we're just supposed to track them and figure out where they're hiding."

"If they're from Otogakure, then wouldn't they be hiding there?"

"Not since that village was the main player in the attack. It was probably just a cover-up for a hideout, and that would be the first place that a Black Ops squad would search. They've most likely moved to a different location and we need to locate that place so that either we can launch an attack or, if they leave that place before we get there, possibly gather more information on this by using anything left in the hideout."

"Why aren't you in charge of a team already? You're good at this."

"Because I'm only 13. What team would listen to a 13 year old?" A Black Ops squad, that's what team. Itachi was 13 when he became a Black Ops captain. He graduated at seven though, so it was understandable. I just barely graduated this previous spring, and I didn't take the Chunin exam, I just skipped right over that rank and got thrown into the higher ranks, with only one out of village mission under my belt.

"Let's get going. We'll meet at the gate in one hour." We nod and split up. Neji and I walk together, mostly because we're going to the same area.

"So, before we leave, do you want to get this over with?"

"Sure. Unless I'm not guaranteed to survive."

"You can handle it. And I'll make sure that he won't hurt you." He shrugs.

"I've already got a bag packed just in the event of a mission like this. It'll take me five seconds to get my bag before going to the gate." I roll my eyes.

"At least someone can find a positive light to this." He shrugs and we stop in front of my house. This should be interesting. I open the door and go inside. "Sasuke!" A door down the hall opens and he sticks his head out.

"What?"

"What are you doing now?"

"I finished the bathrooms, and it's lunchtime." If he's ever missed anything, it has never been a meal.

"Can you come out here? We're kinda short on time." He nods and goes back into the room. I can't figure out if he was in the kitchen or the dining room. Probably the kitchen. We never eat in the dining room. In a moment, he comes into the living room.

"What's wrong, Nee-chan?" He looks up and notices Neji. I sigh when he turns to leave and stop him.

"You are _not_ going to be an ass! Now, be civil. I'll be right back." I walk up to my room and start packing. Weapons, extra clothes, and a few personal things. I nod and shoulder my bag. I run back to the living room and look for Sasuke. "Where did he go?" Neji shrugs.

"He told me not to hurt you and stormed off. I have no idea where he went." I sigh and start for the door.

"I don't have time to hunt for him. Maybe we should have waited until he got a chance to calm down from earlier."

"He seemed okay…"

"We're both very good at hiding what we think." He nods and follows me. We get to the gate to the estate and I lean against the wall. "I'll wait for you here."

"You can come in. It's not a problem." I shrug.

"No offence, but you and Hinata are the only ones in that family that don't annoy me." He shrugs.

"I can understand that. I'll be right back then." I nod and he disappears into the estate. This is so strange for me. Maybe this is how…no, Sasuke's never really liked anyone. He's been moody since the attack though, so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that he's acting like this.

I wouldn't be surprised if we found the Sound Four coming back here to take Sasuke away. And knowing him, he'd willingly go with them. From what he said, he felt stronger when that mark started spreading. It's probably some genetic injection that altered his body in some way, creating a second reserve of dark chakra. And because it came from Orochimaru, that means a way to get stronger.

And I'd go with him. If only to protect him from that. I wouldn't trust someone like Orochimaru to not betray someone for some stupid reason. "Good afternoon, Uchiha-san."

I look up and stare at the guy, Nara. He's wearing a Chunin vest over his usual outfit. "You realize that it'll get pretty warm with all those layers."

"Shut up, smart ass. I don't see you getting annoying promotions."

"You missed it. You didn't notice me proctoring at the exams?"

"Huh?" I roll my eyes.

"You're as unobservant sometimes as you are intelligent. I became a Jounin the day before the exams started."

"How the hell did you manage that one?" I shrug. It's pretty sad that the only intelligent conversation outside of my family is with this lazy jerk.

"I guess they thought I was too talented to go through the proper order of ranks. They sent me straight from being a Genin to Jounin."

"Uchiha-san, are you coming? We'll be late." I look over and nod.

"See you." Neji and I run to the gate.


	21. Older Brother

**Emotional Silence 20- Older Brother**

"Nii-san!" I grab Neji's shoulder and stop him before he runs past me.

"What's wrong?"

"Look ahead."

"Who is that?"

"Itachi, my older brother." He's spotted us! That coat, he really is in Akatsuki then. But, who's that guy with him? Itachi turns to face us. "Don't make eye contact with him." Neji nods and I step forward.

"Well, looks like my little sister got a boyfriend." I smirk.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Nii-san? I don't like guys. What are you doing here?"

"We're on an errand. You don't need to know what that is." I roll my eyes and run at him.

"Karin!" I smile and cross my hands. Kage-bunshin no jutsu! Three doubles appear and dodge the second guy's retaliation. Itachi defends himself.

"You can't hope to beat me, not by yourself."

"I can drive you out then!" I land a kick to his face and jump back. It looks like the other guy uses water based chakra, so my fire attacks won't have any effect on him. And I can't use water based attacks to counter Itachi's fire based chakra. My best bet is to use my shadow doppelgangers to bind the other guy and take care of Itachi with my fire dancing.

"And especially with the circumstances."

"What circumstances? If you remember, Nii-san, I'm three times as strong as Sasuke. I've been strong enough to fight you for years."

"Then why haven't you come after me?"

"I have other priorities, and you aren't at the top of my list." I run in and start gathering chakra.

"Fire dancing, Nee-chan?"

"I've improved the style." I jump into the air and spin, falling down in a tornado of flame. I land and look around. The second guy is holding Itachi up. Good, that means I got him pretty good. They disappear. "Damn!"

"What was that all about?"

"Family dispute. Though this is a bit more deadly than your family troubles."

"Did you find out why he's here?"

"No, but I have a feeling. And I can't talk about it. Let's just get going." He nods and we start back on our run to the gate. We get there and the others wave at us. Tenten is glaring at me. She definitely likes Neji. This will be interesting.

"We ready to go?"

"What took so long?" Neji and I exchange a glance.

"We got held up by a visitor."

"Really?" I nod.

"Yea, we live right next door to each other, so we figured we'd walk home together, and I had a guest and Sasuke wasn't home, and I didn't want to deal with them alone."

"You don't strike me as the insecure type." I shrug and start walking.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go." They nod and we start out. I stop. We don't even know what direction to start.

"What's wrong?"

"What direction are we supposed to start looking?" I sigh and pull out a scroll and needle.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting help. The best way to track someone is to either have a sensory ninja in the team or use another method."

"What method are you suggesting?" I smile and prick my finger with the needle.

"Summoning."

"What, dogs?"

"No, birds. We don't have a sample of the target's scent. It would be pointless to use dogs." I open the scroll and run my finger across it. "Stand back; there will be a lot of them coming out. Kuchiyose no jutsu, Flock of Eyes!" I lay the scroll on the ground and hold one hand in a symbol, two fingers up and the other two pointing at the ground. A flock of black birds with red, sharingan, eyes flood out of the scroll and I roll it up.

"Mistress Karin, what are you summoning us in force for?"

"We're on a tracking mission." The largest bird lands on my head and looks over the team.

"Are you over them, or are you under the weirdo in green?"

"Gai is over our team. Stop being rude and listen to what I need you guys to do, Yuzu."

"Sure, Karin-sama." I roll my eyes and smile at the others.

"Don't worry about Yuzu, he's a sour puss. Now get off of my head so I can look at you, idiot." The bird rises slightly and then lands on the ground in front of me.

"What are we tracking?"

"Four ninja from Otogakure."

"That minuscule little village? What did they do?"

"Assisted in killing the Third. Now, that's beside the point. Our job is to locate them and report back."

"Do you have some way for us to tell who they are?" I nod and pull out the folder with the pictures in it.

"How did you?"

"Guess and you get a prize, Gai. Now. These are the ones that we're looking for." Yuzu bobs his head and flips through the images with a claw.

"Okay, we've got the images memorized. Our objective?"

"Simply locate them and notify me. We will search in the direction of Otogakure. Have the team split up and communicate via visuals. Go as far as you need." He flaps his wings and rises slightly. "Remain high above them, so as to conceal your eyes. They will be able to recognize the trait and know they are being tracked." He bobs his head and signals to the rest of the birds to start flying.

"Explain?" I pick up the folder and put it in my bag.

"I'm an artist with a photographic memory. I copied the pictures in the folder at my house. It only took a moment to make an identical folder to use. I also put a false mission briefing in the back in the event that they discover our intentions and manage to get hold of one or both of the folders. Both look official and both contain different information. Therefore, they will have no way of knowing what our real mission is."

"Oh! But what about the birds?"

"One of my specialties, you could say. Those birds are specifically linked to the Uchiha family and have worked with my ancestors. Basically, they do what I tell them and nothing else. The point of them now is to spread out our search range in a discreet way."

"So we're heading towards Otogakure?" I nod.

"For the moment. I have a feeling at least one bird will find them on a different path and we can go in that direction to confirm it."

"I'm really surprised you're not in charge of a team."

"Looks like she's taken over this team."

"I'm not trying to. I'm just trying to help make this more efficient and less energy wasting. The more time we spend wasting energy searching in every which direction, the less time we'll have to recover if we're discovered. The more energy we manage to conserve, the more energy we'll have in the event of discovery or a conflict."

"All in favor of Uchiha-san being in charge of this mission?" I laugh as all three of them raise their hands.

"You're impressive for a kid." I roll my eyes.

"If you're impressed by this, you really should see me in combat. Kakashi couldn't even keep up with me. Now, we need to get moving. We haven't made any progress except get our range increased." They nod and we start running in the direction of Otogakure.

"You look distracted."

"I'm trying to see what certain of the birds are seeing. That's how they'll let me know that they've found our targets." I stop. "Stop running, right now."

"What's wrong?" I hold up a hand and look at Neji; he understands and starts using Byakugan.


	22. The Birds and the Hunt

**Emotional Silence 21- The Birds and the Hunt**

"We're surrounded."

"Now what?"

"We figure out which are real and which aren't. There are too many identical points of chakra emission for this to be a single group."

"Huh?"

"I'm sure that Neji is seeing what I'm sensing. We're surrounded by identical people. It's impossible for there to be that many in the same location, or even period, without doppelgangers being used." He nods.

"I think that there are seven people. And there aren't any doppelgangers that I can see, unless they're just that good at them." That's impossible. I pull back my hair and touch the ground with one finger. Wind Style, Detection of Elements.

"One uses earth based techniques, no two. The others each use a different element."

"That's impossible."

"There's something strange about six of them." Tenten and Gai look very confused.

"I'm going to check it out." I don't wait for them to say anything; I just put my hands together and suppress a shudder as my body turns into a bunch of little birds. I maintain control over one of the birds and fly through to see what the seven surrounding us look like. Looks like they're trying to see if we pose a threat, just like we are.

There's a girl, she's rather pretty. Wait a minute. They're all wearing the black coats of the Akatsuki! I spot the weird thing about the six guys. They all have the strangest eyes, gray with what looks like a rippling of black rings from the pupil out. Could it be the fabled Rinnegan? How could there be six people using it though? Unless it's the same person split into six bodies that have specific traits. I fly back to the others and put my body back together.

"Okay, don't ever do that again without warning us." I smile.

"They don't pose a threat to us. Probably scouting. The only reason why they would attack would be if we attacked them."

"They don't seem to be hostile."

"Why is it that we're left out of the weird eye fest?"

"It's actually a pain in the rear, so be glad."

"Karin, they're moving." Tenten gasps and I turn around.

"What?" The guy stares at my eyes, he doesn't seem afraid of the power behind them. Maybe because I'm a kid? No, this guy just isn't afraid of my eyes. He doesn't say anything, just disappears.

"That's strange. They're gone."

"What was that about?"

"I'm not sure." I look up.

"Good news. The Sound Four are resting about half a day's walk from here." I could get there in half the time by flying, but I'm the only one that would be able to do it.

"This means they'll be moving once it gets morning."

"I'm not sure. By the look of the clearing they're in, they're waiting for something." Or maybe someone. Could they be waiting for Sasuke to give up and go looking for Orochimaru?

"So we could rest here and catch up to them in the morning?" I nod.

"It looks like they haven't moved for about a day or two. There's too much flat grass for them to just be resting."

"How can you see that?"

"The bird that spotted them is circling the clearing, giving me a full view of the space."

"Oh." They probably still have no idea what I'm talking about. I mentally call back every bird except for the one that found our quarry. I need him to keep an eye on them so we can either anticipate their next location or catch up to them.

"Yuzu, I want you to do something else before I send you home."

"What, Karin-sama?"

"There are two Akatsuki traveling through this area, a woman with raven hair with a purple flower in it and a man with black things goring his face."

"Can you give a better description of them?" I concentrate on the seven faces that I saw.

"The man will look like one of those six men."

"Okay, you want me to watch them?" I nod.

"See if you can find out what village they are formerly from. Names would be even better. This is high risk, so keep out of sight."

"They know more about the eyes than most?" I nod.

"Yes. The man looked me straight in the eye and didn't flinch, knowing that I could easily have incapacitated him in a moment." Yuzu nods and flies off. I walk back to the others and look around. It's getting dark. "There isn't a point in going any further this late. Even though we haven't been going for very long, we should rest and keep moving in the morning." They nod and pull their bags off.

I run through several signs with one hand while I pull out needles with the other. I touch each needle after finishing the series of signs and stick them in the ground surrounding our little campsite. "What are you doing now?" I finish the circle and walk to the center. I put my hands together in the sign of the snake. Earth style, Twelve Point Barrier! The shield rises around us and I dust my hands together.

"Sorry, if I had answered you, I would have had to start over. Now, I was putting up a barrier. It makes it easier than taking turns keeping watch."

"Should we be worried?"

"About what?"

"You. Didn't you just barely graduate?" I nod.

"Of course."

"And you just barely turned 13, right?"

"Yes."

"Then how the heck are you able to use so much chakra without even breaking a sweat?"

"My older brother spent all of his free time working with me. And my mother taught me a lot as well."

"You have another brother?"

"Yea, we don't talk about him much."

"Why not?"

"You really don't want to know." It's coming easier, this trust thing. Maybe what I needed was to re-experience a friendship with someone that wouldn't betray me to get me out of the anti-trust thing.

"Who's hungry?"

"Not for your cooking!"

"I take it she's not a very good cook?" The two guys nod and I reach into my bag.

"Well then, we'll just have to deal with some fresh cooked food." I pull out my kitchen scroll and open it up. I put my hand on the space and a pot, spoons, bowls, and a spoon to mix food with appear.

"Clever." I smile and unroll the other scroll. I touch this scroll and the supplies for my version of beef and chicken ramen appear.

"Should we be scared?"

"Of what? The fact that I'm about to cook? Of course not. I've been cooking since I was old enough to stir a pot of ramen."

"Well, we know who does the housework at your place."

"Sasuke and I take turns with everything. Cleaning, cooking, and shopping. We have ever since we were six."

"Why didn't your parents do that?" I look at the ground and start getting stuff ready to cook.

"Family is a sensitive subject." I get up and gather some fallen branches for a fire.

"My parents died just after we turned six. We've had to grow up a lot. And if any other questions about this sort of thing are asked, I'm just going to pretend I didn't hear. Back up unless you want to get burned." I close my eyes and concentrate. I haven't mastered a small concentration of flame in one spot just yet, so I plan to use a small amount of flame using my Fire Dancing.

"What are you doing now?" I ignore her and aim a small stream of fire at the wood.

"There." I lift her jaw and close her mouth before kicking up the fire stand under my pot. I let the meat cook then add the water and vegetables. Once it starts boiling, I add the noodles and let them cook. It smells delicious. I move the pot away from the flame and pour some of the soup into the bowls.

"Wow!"

"I hope it tastes as good as it smells!" I roll my eyes. Idiots. I sit down with a bowl and start eating.

'_Any progress, Yuzu?'_ An image flies through my mind quickly; he's tailing the guys that we saw before.

'_They're silent, but they seem to be going to Amegakure, Karin-sama. Would you like me to follow them there?'_ This is useless; they're just running, not talking.

'_The only way to get information from them would seem to tail them there, but Itachi is in Konoha. Go there and see what's going on.'_ The image changes and I can tell that Yuzu is going in a different direction.

'_On my way, Karin-sama.'_ I finish my soup and write out a note for Sasuke.

'_Sorry to dirty these, but the only food we have with us is Tenten's cooking and it isn't edible. There are leftovers, so I'll make sure they get to the fridge. Listen, I ran into Itachi on my way out. Be careful, okay. Yuzu is on his way so keep an eye out for him. And Sasuke, don't do anything stupid. Don't get yourself killed please. I'll see you when I get home.'_ I fold up the note and put his name on the front.

"Are we done?" They nod and look at their bowls.

"Um, what are we supposed to do with these?" I stack them up, put the note on top, and wrap the utensils in a napkin from my bag. Then I set them on top of the scroll I used to summon them and touch the second space that sends them to the counter beside the sink. Then I put the lid on the pot and put it on the second scroll. I touch the spot that sends it to the fridge and roll up the two scrolls.

"Now what?"

"Nothing." I put the scrolls back in my bag and pull out my bedroll.

'_Karin-sama! The targets are on the move! Towards your location!'_ I look around.

'_Where?'_ An image flies through my mind, the four sound ninja, heading straight for us.

'_Great. Head them off, take on the appearance of Itachi. Hurry, buy us some time._'

"We have a problem."

"Now what?"

"Either we've been discovered by our targets, or they're just moving. Either way, we're right in their path."

"Do we have time to move?" I shake my head.

"No, my birds can only buy us enough time to set up a concealment technique."

"Huh?"

"It's the basics of the basics…oh right. Sorry."

"What?"

"I forgot, my brother was an expert at this sort of thing and the technique I plan to use was one of the most basic ones." They nod slowly.

"Do you need help?"

"We don't have time for that. Just keep quiet." If worse comes to worst, I can get us an escape by using fire. That's only in the worst case though. I walk to the edge of the shield and touch the first needle and last needles. Wind style, Twelve Point Hidden Pass. The shield shudders and it looks like the ground beneath us moves.

"What's going on?"

"This is a basic technique?" I roll my eyes and finish the technique.

"Will you two stop freaking out? We're temporarily in a different dimension. Once they pass, I'll release the technique and we'll be back in the forest."

"Exactly where?"

"You don't wanna know." They look surprised. I'm surprised that Neji actually said that. Can he see where we are? Because we're actually in a separate dimension inside one of my larger bird's stomach. I close my eyes and wait for the image to go past our former location. When it does, I release the technique and we end up right back where we were.

"Great. They're going to the village."

"What?" I start picking up the needles, releasing the shield, and put them away.

"I'm probably the fastest. I'll go ahead and see if that's where they're really going. You guys catch up." They nod and I separate my body again. When this is over, I'll probably end up passing out. I fly through the forest and catch up to the Sound Four. They veer away from the village and stop. I send the one bird back to tell the others to keep back and explain what's going on.

"There's a bird following us."

"Strange."

"We should be careful; Orochimaru-sama said that there might be someone from that village that could use birds to follow us."

"Is that why we stopped?"

"Yea. It doesn't look like he's coming for a while; we should retreat to the hideout for now and come back when we receive the signal."

"I say we just go in and take him. Orochimaru-sama wants him that bad."

"What about the girl? The raven-haired girl that was acting with him."

"If she gets in the way, we'd kill her. Simple as that."

"She looked more talented than that. She really could pose a threat."

"Quit reading into things."

"There's a better way to do this." A fifth voice joins them. I can't get a visual without risking being seen. This fifth voice is different; it has an evil tint to it.

"Orochimaru-sama!"

"What is your plan?"

"Take the girl. Obviously, there is some connection between them. If we take the girl, Sasuke will come running to save her." I can't listen any more. I'm not strong enough to take on one of the Sannin. I have to get back to the others. Neji knows me well enough to know that I have a tendency to stumble upon conflict. I start to fly off and something grabs me.

"Where are you going, little birdie?" The guy grips me tightly and jumps back to the ground.

"Got it."

"What's wrong with its eyes?"

"Looks like we don't have to go far to get that girl." Great. I'm in big trouble.

'_Tell them to rush back to the village. I'm being kidnapped and they'll need reinforcements. Sasuke is_ not _to know about this. The enemy wants him to come after me.'_

"Put yourself back together." I locate my voice.

"Try and make me." The guy squeezes his hands around me, which hurts! "Let go of me then!" I start pulling myself back together and peck the guy's hand.

"Hey!" When I'm back to myself, two of them grab me to keep me from running.

"You look like him."

"Who are you talking about?" Orochimaru touches my chin and I snap my teeth at him.

"Sasuke." He notices the similarity.

"So?"

"You're related to him."

"Maybe." He slaps me.

"What is your full name?"

"Like I'd tell a snake like you, my name." He grabs my throat and lifts me off the ground. I grab at his hand, trying to free myself. If I hadn't used so much chakra already, I would be able to defend myself better.

"Tell me."

"U…Uchiha…Ka…Karin." He drops me and I put my hand on my throat, gasping for air.

"His sister?"

"We're twins, actually."

"Even better." The two that grabbed me before, pull my hands around behind me and something wraps around my wrists to hold my arms back and apart. "Cover her eyes too." Suddenly, I can't see anything and one of them pushes me forward. Someone grabs my arm and pulls me along.

'_Stay with Neji. I'll try to keep you posted on my location, as best I can. Make sure that Sasuke doesn't find out.'_ I trip over something and nearly fall. The hand holds me up and we keep walking.

'_Yes Ma'am.'_ The air becomes damp after a while and the ground becomes more stable. We must be in a cave somewhere.


	23. Kidnapped and Marked

**Emotional Silence 22- Kidnapped and Marked**

The hand moves from my arm and pushes me forward. I stumble forward and bump into a wall. The blindfold is removed, but they leave my hands bound. A girl, a strange red head with glasses, smiles and leaves the little room. It's pitch black once she shuts and bolts the door.

I concentrate on my wrists. If it's rope that is holding my hands, I'm about to burn it off. I gather chakra into my hands and turn it to flame. I try to separate my hands, but whatever it is holds. I slump to the floor, exhausted. I really overdid it with using my chakra.

It feels like they took my pack. Hopefully they didn't touch my waist bag. I look at my leg. They took my weapons too. I try to lean forward and fall flat on my face. It doesn't matter really, I'm about to pass out from exhaustion. I close my eyes and an image runs through my mind. Neji must be worried like hell.

*Neji's POV*

"What do you mean, go back for reinforcements?!"

"Neji, calm down."

"Karin-sama said not to come immediately. Orochimaru was with them when I lost touch with her. She said to rush to the village and get reinforcements. Sasuke-sama is _not_ to know about this."

"Why not?"

"According to what Karin-sama heard, they want him to come after her. Why, I do not know."

"So while she's getting kidnapped and taken to who knows where, we're supposed to go for reinforcements?! Did they hit her in the head and knock her senseless?!"

"Neji-sama, I understand that you're worried, but she knows what she's doing." I honestly don't think so.

"Fine. Let's get back to the village. And then we'll leave the moment we have assistance." The bird flies up and lands on my shoulder.

"What are you doing?"

"I have orders to remain with you." These birds really do everything that she tells them to. And if they can communicate with her, she'll know if we just go after her, and she'll be pissed. We start running back to the village.

*Karin's POV*

"Still trying to free your hands?" I look up. I didn't even notice the door open. The girl from before walks in, carrying a tray of food.

"Why am I even bound?"

"Because, Orochimaru-sama has directed that."

"Do you do everything he tells you to?"

"Of course!" I roll my eyes.

"How am I supposed to eat that if I can't freaking pick it up?"

"Temperamental much?" She closes the door and walks around behind me. "You are allowed to be unbound while you eat, under my supervision."

"He must really trust you not to get killed then."

"You can't touch me." She smiles and releases my arms. I get up and go for the food. "You're not going to even try?"

"I'm excruciatingly hungry. I might try something, after I eat." She laughs and I finish the food quickly. Before she get a chance to bind my hands again, I go to attack her. I get a few inches away from her and it feels like I just got struck by lightning. She smiles and pushes me down.

"I told you that you couldn't touch me." She pulls my arms back and refastens the bindings. Then, it feels like she sticks a needle in my wrist, right where I usually keep my Hitai-ate. It feels like fire running through my veins and I bite back a scream. She walks around to pick up the tray and then walks out of the room, bolting the door again. The pain is intense and I fall forward. I'm trying to bite back a scream, but not succeeding very well, I'm whimpering. I hope I pass out before I actually lose control over my voice and start screaming.

*Sasuke's POV*

Something's up. That team just got back, but Karin isn't with them. One of her birds is though. Maybe she went ahead to scout alone because of her little shape shifting jutsu. At least, that's what Hyuuga said when I asked. He said that she was scouting with the birds and keeping in contact with them through that one. And Yuzu is here as well, just like the note said. I haven't seen Itachi though, so I'll have to keep a look out. Someone knocks on the door, well, bangs more like.

"Coming!" I run to the living room and open the door.

"What do you want, Sakura?" She frowns.

"Have you seen Karin?"

"No, she's out doing something."

"Really? I just overheard Lee talking with that girl Tenten about her."

"What wild rumors are you spreading now? First you tried to say that she was getting kissed, now what's the story?"

"They were talking about her getting kidnapped!"

"What?" That can't be true. There's no way that Karin would let herself get caught like that. "I'll get to the bottom of it. Just…don't tell anyone that. Not when you don't know the facts."

"You're the first person I've talked to about it." Oh joy. She runs off, waving. Perfect. I knew there was something they were trying to keep from me. No, I can't think like that. If it's true, then she told the bird to tell them not to tell me. But why? I walk out of the house and start searching. Now that I think about it, I've had a strange feeling about this since this morning, when I talked to them about this. I spot Hyuuga and approach him.

"What happened to Karin?"

"I told you already, she went ahead since she could cover more ground."

"And the bird is relaying information to you?" He nods. I think of something. Those birds can't lie to an Uchiha, whether they're ordered to or not, they can't. I look at the little bird on his shoulder. "Where is she?"

"I don't know, Sasuke-sama." I knew it, something happened to her!

"Why not?"

"Because Karin-sama doesn't know her location." I'll get it out of the bird eventually.

"Why is that?"

"Why are you interrogating the bird?"

"She can't lie to me. Now, I expect an answer."

"Karin-sama ordered me not to tell you."

"So something _did_ happen to her." I start back to the house.

"You're not going to look for her are you?"

"She's my sister; of course I'm going after her. I don't see you doing anything useful." He gets in front of me. "What?"

"That's not a good idea."

"Why not?" He looks around and starts walking to my house. "There had better be a good reason why you're evading this."

"I'm not evading. It's just not a good idea to talk about this outside." I roll my eyes and we get to the house.

"Now."

"She said that she didn't want you to know because if you go after her, that's what Orochimaru wants."

"What?"

"She was kidnapped by Orochimaru. And apparently, for some reason, his plan is for you to come after her." That's why.

"I'm such an idiot." I go upstairs and lock myself in my room. I need to think.


	24. Attempted Rescue

**Emotional Silence 23- Attempted Rescue**

*Karin's POV*

I open my eyes. I feel like I was given something to put me to sleep. My head hurts. I flex my hand and remember. That pain before. Now it feels like something is crawling up my arm. I try to look back, but I can't get my arm into view. I struggle to my feet and look around. There's a mirror on the wall! I turn and look, then gasp. There's a black pattern of diamonds crawling up my arm! What is this?

"Here's breakfast! Oh, calm down. It's the worst the first time. It gets better over time."

"What are you talking about?"

"The mark. That's interesting, I haven't seen this pattern yet."

"What the hell did you do to me?!"

"Now, now, no need to shout, Uchiha-san. I was instructed to mark you. Orochimaru-sama usually does that himself, but he's a bit too busy to handle you. Look, the pattern is already receding." She releases my arms and I look at my wrists. On one wrist is the scar from the day that Itachi killed our parents, on the other is a small trio of diamonds that are spinning around. When they stop moving, they create a three point star. I eat and she takes the tray out.

"What, you're not going to bind me?"

"No. By the way, Uchiha-san. My name is Karin." Great.

"Uchiha-san! Dinner!"

"Go away, Karin, I'm not hungry." And I'm not. The door locks again and I hear a scream from somewhere. What's going on? I run to the door and fumble around for the sliding door that opens to show me a part of the hall. I find it and look out of the room. There's barking and then the sound of chirping birds.

"Uchiha-san! Where are you?" I look around.

"In here!" A giant dog gets on the door and looks at me. "You're one of Kakashi's dogs aren't you?"

"Yes. I'll be right back." The dog disappears and I hear running.

"Karin!"

"Hyuuga!" He gets to the door and stares at me.

"We're going to get you out of here."

"Hasn't Kakashi heard of stealth? Now it'll be extremely dangerous to get out of here!" He shrugs and tries to figure out the lock. He gets it and opens the door. I run out of the room and hug him.

"Let's get out of here." I nod and we start running. Pain shoots through my arm and I bite my lip. "What's wrong?"

"My arm…" It's getting worse by the second. The further we get from that room, the worse it gets.

"What's wrong with your arm?" This is too much. I grip my arm and bite down harder on my lip. "What the hell?" I look down, the diamond pattern is coming back, and it's made it to my face I think.

The crawling feeling that I can feel under the pain is crossing my body from the right side, across my face and everywhere else. I almost collapse. "Karin!" Neji picks me up and carries me out of the series of caves. The pain is crippling.

"H…Hyuuga…stop…it's…getting worse…" He stops running and watches my face.

"How?"

"I…don't…know." I can't form sentences properly through this pain. There's no way that I'll be able to go any further without losing control. He looks worried.

"I'm going to get you home."

"Don't…"

"Why not?"

"It…gets worse…the farther…" I bite my lip to hold in the scream.

"She won't get better." That voice.

"Neji! Leave me and get away from here!" I clench my eyes shut and bite my lip. The pain just got worse. Please, just leave me before you get hurt. Maybe if I can get past the pain, like I do in battle…there! I separate my body into the birds and reform myself a few feet away from Neji. "Leave, before you end up hurt. Please."

"I'm not going to leave you." Tears spill out of my eyes and I start running back towards that place. As much as I want to go home, I can't. I just figured out how to overcome the pain, using the technique I use in battle. It nullifies the pain and allows me to keep my concentration.


	25. Notice

**HIATUS/REWRITE NOTICE**

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! Rewrite Notice !

Because I have been improving my writing style and I am dissatisfied with the current state of the following stories:

Cherry Blossom's Late Bloom, Dark Blade, Digital Dream, Eagle Spark, Emily and the Olympians (To be retitled 'Raising a Hero'), Lost in Spira (To be retitled 'The Secret Summoner'), Narissa and the Olympians (To be retitled 'Unwilling Hero'), Sword Transcending Time (To be retitled 'Queen Blades'), Tsubasa no Tenshi Angel Wings (To be retitled 'Tenshi no Tsubasa o'), Yuuki's Story

I'm rewriting them from almost scratch. I am also re-playing/reading/watching the series this is based on so as to be more accurate in non-au situations.

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! Hiatus Notice !

Because I'm either rewriting the story or it's on my hard drive that is currently out of commission, all of my stories except completed stories and:

Tails of a Copy Cat

Are on hiatus until further notice. I promise that I will have my hard drive fixed as soon as possible so I can get back to work on my older stories.

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! THIS CHAPTER WILL BE DELETED WHEN I ADD NEW CONTENT !


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